As if to prevent any confusion about what their bubblegummy, ’60s girl group-inspired sound may imply, Pittsburgh three-piece Hoverborg would like to emphasize that they drink their coffee black. No sugar, no cream. Make it a double shot while you’re at it. Well, maybe some pumpkin spice – Hoverborg clearly knows their pop culture, referencing Gollum, the Back to the Future trilogy, and Gilmore Girls in their lyrics like they can’t help themselves.
Their debut album (The Good Stuff) is a blend of beach pop and ’90s alternative with a bite and a punch. It’s packed with catchy, uncomplicated melodies that the future may reveal to be unhealthy in the long run, but right now feels pretty gratifying.
Update 1 (June 30th): One of our readers directed our attention to the following statement on the band’s updated Bandcamp page: “Hoverborg is a fictional band. All of the sounds you hear on this album were generated using AI tools. The songs were written by a human, but the audio you hear is ones and zeroes. This was produced as a social experiment as part of the documentary film, ‘Destroy All Humans.’
Update 2: (July 3rd): S.W. talked to the creator and raises some important and interesting questions in this feature for Remember The Lightning. Also, kudos to Josh Rutledge who rewrote his original review of the EP.
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp
Just FYI. They’re not a three-piece. It’s AI (they’re a fictional band). The creator updated their band camp to reflect this. The lead girl on the cover is literally an actress. No clue who the other two are.
Apologies for the ruse! I let everything sit for 2 weeks after releasing the music before I let the cat out of the bag. Anybody who paid for the music on Bandcamp before I put that disclaimer there was offered a refund. And everybody who paid, whether they wanted a refund or not, was offered a free copy of the CD + vinyl as a peace offering.
This is the first media outlet I chatted with about the true nature of the project: https://rememberthelightning.substack.com/p/introducing-hoverborg