New Jersey indie rock outfit The Only Humans are back with their latest EP, 'It Didn’t Hit Me Until Today', a gripping six-track collection navigating the messy, uncomfortable precipice of life-altering transition. It is a record where profound life changes accelerate much faster than the conscious mind can process, capturing characters stranded between loss and acceptance.
On 'Running Out on the Check', affection that bloomed in the summer warmth fails to survive the harsh winter chill. Meanwhile, 'Narcissus' paints a stark picture of a toxic relationship, where clarity only arrives after abandoning everything to start fresh in a lonely hotel room. The EP is populated by vivid, tragic figures: a ghost oblivious to their own demise in a shipwreck and a stunt performer plunging over a waterfall, desperate to feel something in a numb existence.
The most intimate moment comes from primary songwriter Tim Howd, who channels a poignant family memory following his uncle's terminal cancer diagnosis.
“We were visiting my Uncle Bob, after our family learned he wouldn’t be getting better,” says Howd. “He told us he was praying outside his house when a white dove, not common in that part of New Jersey, touched down in front of him. Like an angel. He said that was the moment he realised he wasn’t afraid about what was coming.”
Musically, the core trio of Howd (vocals/guitars), Renée Gauthier (bass), and Neil Morrissey (violin/arrangements) reunited with producer Elio DeLuca at The Soul Shop. Joined by drummers Michelle Tucker and Mike Cashin, the band opted for a loose, spontaneous studio philosophy.
“We did something very different, arrangement-wise, for this one,” Howd says. “For our last record, we basically had the whole thing, down to every string part, written before we came into the studio. This time, we had the bones of each song, but a lot of question marks about where we wanted to go with each one. This allowed us to discover things in the moment and make some choices we might not have made if we had given ourselves a chance to overthink everything to death.”
This real-time discovery mirrors the band's wider worldview. In a recent chat with the Boston Globe regarding the purpose of making art in a turbulent socio-political climate, Howd remained defiant.
“Art is one of the last signals of freedom in any oppressive culture,” Howd says. “That’s why it’s usually one of the first things to go. Continuing to create in a world that makes creativity feel meaningless is its own kind of protest.”
'It Didn’t Hit Me' Until Today is available to stream now on all major platforms. Make sure to follow The Only Humans on Instagram for more.
