Ears Wide Open: Hawai

Kevin Bronson on August 31st, 2015

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To associate Orange County quintet Hawai with the state of Hawaii (or the band My Hawaii, for that matter) would be mighty misleading. They don’t wear leis, and as far as we can tell there’s not a ukulele to be heard in their uber-modern rock. It would be literally true, however, to call them a garage band — the longtime pals practice in Jake Pappas’ garage in Dana Point. And the stadium-sized atmospherics recall another band with roots in southern Orange County, Delta Spirit. The latest single from the band — singer-guitarist Pappas, guitarist Casey Lagos, bassist Jared Slaybaugh, keyboardist Matt Gillen and drummer Jesse Dorman — is “In My Head,” which is vaguely about playing out scenarios in one’s imagination but is more about FM radio-ready production. For that, the band worked with Lars Stalfors, who has production credits for the likes of Cold War Kids, HEALTH, Funeral Party, Chelsea Wolfe and Deap Vally. The song, along with the first single “Fault,” will appear on an EP that Hawai hopes to release by the end of the year.

||| Stream: “In MyHead” and “Fault”