Track By Track: Here's To You Breaks Down Their New EP Wonder/Wander: Phase I

Today New York indie rockers Here’s To You release their new EP.

First forming in 2009, the quartet has played hundreds of shows across the eastern seaboard, released a full-length album, and have played major music festivals like Bamboozle and SXSW.

The past three years have seen the band developing a delicious new sound while prepping their sophomore album Wonder/Wander, which is set to be released in three EP-length segments.

The first, Wonder/Wander: Phase I, drops today and includes the dynamic single “Burning Alive,” a feel-good anthem to youth and the exhilaration that nighttime adventures bring with them. Here’s To You broke down Phase I, track by track, just for Musical Notes Global readers. Check out what they had to say below!

”Drive”: This song was inspired by the photo that is our album cover. The four of us sat together, and stared at this image, and tried to encompass the vibe of the photograph in song form. I think we got it pretty good, cause we love listening to it driving during sunset/sunrise. There are a lot of little synth atmospheres that were really something new for us to try in this song.

“Burning Alive”: This song blended together like magic when writing, it was insane. This was the first song we wrote in full for “Wonder/Wander” and we definitely knew we wanted it to be a single, we feel like it’s a really catching song. Charlie wrote this song’s lyrics about a night he had visiting a friend up at college, where he practically fell in love for the night. Easy to put a smile on your face listening to this one.

“An Alliance”: This was an interesting song to come together. A lot of these newer songs have been started by someone first, but Greg actually started playing this intro riff in practice and we all jammed on it. Later, we sat down, demo-ed it out and the full song came from there. Lyrically, this song deals with the push and pull of a relationship that’s on its way out, the constant “war” it can almost feel like - we’ve all experienced that feeling.

“Don’t Remember Me”: The only proper way to preface this song is by saying that Here’s To You has never tried to write a ballad until now, 7 years into our career. Greg had a good chunk of this song written, but didn’t think it was something that was HTY appropriate, until he showed it to Steph and Charlie on a whim. They were both pleasantly surprised and eager to continue the song and develop it fully. Sometimes it’s crazy to believe that such a sad song came out of those sessions. Lyrically, it’s pretty transparent, dealing with the remnants of a love long gone.

Stream Wonder/Wander: Phase I now on Spotify.