Why is it that sibling groups tend to have the best harmonies? From Haim to The Hanson Brothers, The Hadleys are soon to join the ranks of great sibling trios that bless our ears with soothing harmonies and blissful tunes. Hannah, Drew, and Gabrielle make up The Hadleys, a “spacey-folk-pop” group hailing from Charleston, SC and now residing in Brooklyn, NY. Their sound is collective and their style is unique. Atwood Magazine is proud to premiere their latest video, produced by B-Side Sessions, for unreleased song “Just Between You & Me.”
I gave my best to make things right
I’m on your side
you take forever just to change your mind
don’t waste my time
“Just Between You & Me” – The Hadleys
“Just Between You & Me” is a simplistically deep look into a relationship that is doomed from the start. According to guitarist and lead singer Drew, the song was actually inspired by fictional characters. “Funny enough, ‘Just Between You & Me’ was inspired by an 80’s Spider-man storyline in ‘Peter Parker: Spectacular Spider-man’ #97 and #98 where Spidey’s relationship with his then love interest, Black Cat, goes toxic. The use of fictional characters in songwriting seems to be a great bridge for the subconscious to be honest and upfront. We try to hide little clever nods to our nerdy interests in our songs, this one was a maximum nerd nod in the subtlest of fashion.”
“Just Between You & Me” begins with Drew plucking a pleasant melody on the acoustic guitar. His David Gray like voice then brings in the first verse,
I gave my best to make things right
I’m on your side
you take forever just to change your mind
don’t waste my time
The sisters join for the first chorus interjecting synth tones on the keys while accompanying Drew’s vocals with delicate harmonies,
Just between you and me
I’m running on empty
I’m questioning what we’re gonna be
is the end impending
Just between you and me
you ruined everything
The chorus is what brings the namesake of the song to life. It allows the anger to come out. It allows the placing of blame. The title and the chorus are also a clever nod to the audience. The Hadleys are letting us in on something that is just supposed to be between two people. In fact, Drew stated, “we thought it would be funny to have a song title as personal and exclusive as ‘Just Between You & Me’ to share with everyone. Anything to add a flare of the ironic.”
The song continues to the next verse as the video focuses in on each sibling from different angles. This allows us to see emotion flow through each of them individually, while still showing the natural synchronization these siblings hold. Hannah Hadley expressed, “We’re super grateful for our good friend Taylor Hickman, who started up the great live video project that is B-side Sessions. We got to do this video with him right before we moved here to Brooklyn, NY and love working with him. He’s done some pretty awesome stuff in the music community down in Charleston, SC, capturing bands live and really investing his time and caring for the artists. B-side Sessions forever. We are big fans.”
When the bridge of the song commences the video focuses back on Drew who sings in pair with his sisters,
I’m not what you really wanted anyways
we got caught infatuated with a game
But that ain’t love cuz love don’t play
no that ain’t love cuz love don’t play
The lyrics in the bridge explain how the relationship was always doomed. “That ain’t love cause love don’t play.” That is so perfectly and precisely put. After the bridge Hannah breaks out into a harmonica solo that excites the audience. You can almost feel the energy from this solo and the backing of the band come to life through the screen. It truly adds an element of strength to the song that we didn’t know we needed. The trio then plays through the chorus one more time, ending with the same pleasant guitar plucks that started it off.
The Hadleys are an impressive trio. Be on the lookout for what comes next for these three, our guess is that big things are in their future. Dig deeper into them via their 2016 debut EP, Heart Peaks, and stream “Just Between You & Me” exclusively on Atwood Magazine!
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:: stream/purchase Heart Peaks here ::
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