Magic Man’s Sam Lee and Justine Bowe discuss breakups, the pressure of the music industry, and their playful new project—hex gf.
Boy meets girl, guitarist meets keyboardist, the rest was history. In this case, the history being Justine Bowe and Sam Lee’s brief romantic relationship, which ended as local indie pop band Magic Man grappled with the pains and expectations of a major label deal, and as a result, broke up. “There was always this pressure to kind of write a song that was bigger or better or more popular, more catchy than the last song,” guitarist Lee said.
For their new project, Bowe and Lee wanted something completely different—low stakes, zero pressure, and most importantly, fun. Their whimsical melodies and joyful lyrics reflect this, cementing hex gf as a refreshing take on a breakup band. It’s taken a while for Bowe and Lee to get to a place where they can play together again, but they were able to work the kinks out when Lee played guitar in Photocomfort, Bowe’s project at the time. They began what Bowe called “a song pen-pal kind of thing”—sending songs and lyrics back and forth from Lee in New York to Bowe in Somerville.
Hex gf’s music is as intimate as a hand-written letter and is a clear extension of Bowe and Lee’s own relationship: full of inside jokes and intricate memories. On their debut single “Knife,” Lee’s guitar drops in like ice tumbling in a glass, giving the track a buoyancy right from the start. The effervescent and twinkling melody captures all of the curious innocence of reconnecting with someone and forming a new, unexpected relationship. When Bowe sings, “What do you see in me now that we’re older?” it seems to be directed towards Lee. Her bewitching vocals, which float from a delicate whisper to a honeyed choke, walk the line between whimsy and introspection, and allude to a deeper undercurrent of not-so-ancient history.
They never fail to keep it light, however, and playfulness is evident in every aspect of the project— from the songwriting process, which Bowe describes as “sketch comedy,” to the colorful and kitschy song art, and at last, to the striking music video for “Knife.” Peeking out from a wall of blond hair, Bowe sings at the camera, pausing occasionally to take a sip of a martini or a drag of a cigarette, while disembodied hands stroke and accessorize the hanging blond locks.
Shot on an iPhone and featuring the hands of close friends, Lee says this video captures the collaborative nature and the quirky casualness of the project. It also matches the creation of the album itself, which Bowe and Lee recorded mostly themselves apart from two friends who played bass and drums. “I think that the video is really good at capturing the tone of the band. We love the music, but there’s definitely a not-serious element to it,” Lee said. “It’s a very friends and family project.”
However, this playfulness didn’t come entirely naturally. Coming off the heels of other projects, Bowe discussed her struggle with shedding the serious element. “It’s sometimes a little difficult to sort of let go and just write something that’s fun and for fun, and that is its purpose,” Bowe mentioned. She credits Lee’s expansive and bright melodies with giving her the space to explore a different approach to songwriting.
This low-stakes approach included using prompt ideas for songs such as combining different bands together and trying to achieve that sound, citing influences from Bruce Springsteen to War On Drugs. Still, the resulting music is entirely their own. Although “Knife” is the only track hex gf has released, their upcoming single “Domino” takes on a much mellower tone, showcasing how far they can range with a carefree, winking North Star still in their sights.
Even “Domino”’s release date—a day after Valentines’ Day—is a wink in and of itself for a self-titled breakup band. Mastering a stance between witty self-awareness and breezy nonchalance, hex gf has cruised onto the Boston scene, dropping indie-pop anthems like dominoes.
Listen to hex gf’s first single, “Knife,” here and their latest track, “Domino” which was released today.