Plum is the title of The Herron Brothers new five track EP. The real life brothers have been making music for many years, adding more tracks to their name each year, releasing albums, EPs and singles along the way. Now with Plum, their first compilation of tracks for 2025, they can add five more memorable compositions to that. Believe me, each one is well worth a listen.
Bandages is a song that packs some powerful messaging into it as well as just being a brilliant song, which is an impressive feat. Beginning with a slightly distorted sound, that opening noise grabs your attention. The vocals in comparison are clear and crispy, layering the tune, giving it some more depth. The singing is truly incredible and really adds flavour to each and every one of the tracks on the EP.
The Herron Brothers themselves have said that this song lyrically has a lot of meaning to it, unlike a lot of their other tracks that they described as ‘obtuse’ in terms of the words. It is an anti war track that takes a defiant angle on the subject matter, and you can tell that they feel passionate about it. Enough to have changed their usual abstract lyrics to ones with grounding substance.
Here Comes the Summer is more upbeat, harbouring a bit of an old school country twang. This sounds particularly obvious in the chorus where the lead vocal pitches higher. It makes the chorus really stand out in the song and centralises the whole track around those amazing vocals. There is something unusual and highly original about the composition. The constant harmonies throughout, where you can clearly hear multiple voices singing each word are a trait not every band utilises, as it leads to everything sounding slightly echoey. Yet it works really well, particularly for this duo’s sound.
It works so well that these are also very present on Safe as Hollywood. Another jolly and lively sound, portrayed instantly in the jangly instrumental intro. The sound quality and general tone feel slightly 70’s or 80’s, the deliberate effect making it feel retro and nostalgic. Everything about this one is catchy and you can’t help but bop your head. It is certainly a personal highlight on Plum.
The bridge section of the song is especially interesting, exploring the concept of having most of the instruments drop out for a few seconds. There aren’t too many words to remember in the chorus section, making it perfect to sing along to. It’s so perfect, you can picture people doing so at festivals, which maybe they did when The Herron Brothers played at Y Not festival last year.
On the song Invisible, the plucky guitar sound at the beginning instantly picks up momentum, soon accompanied by the vocals, which are once again in a higher range. In the slightly quieter section of the song, midway through, the instrumentals are fairly muted apart from a celestial chiming. Finishing with the titular word repeated over and over, the song is perfect from beginning to end, all those elements making a gorgeous song.
Finally, The Plane Ain’t Going Down is another great example of how amazing the vocals are, showing a phenomenal range and hitting high notes in a mesmorising way that will raise goosebumps. The instrumental section halfway through breaks up the verses and simplistic chorus that consists of just the title being sung. The song ends with the chorus being sung out, with even more emotion each time the line is sung, followed by more brilliant but brief instrumentals that you won’t forget.
The Herron Brothers sound is one that is timeless. A sound you can’t get bored of and will never go out of style, taking inspiration from different eras and to an extent, genres. Their unique music, incredible vocal range and captivating harmonies give each of their tracks a distinctive feel and Plum is another great project to add to their back catalogue.
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