Fly Felix mixes empathy, mental health awareness and indietronica with new single 'Hope You’re Alright'

Perhaps when you hear the terms indietronica or indie rock you cast your mind to boutique cafes where the barista wears a fashionable beanie hat while sitting atop a collection of David Foster Wallace novels. 

Cliches aside, Fly Felix’s sound does little to disassociate with the “indie hipster vibe”. What is impressive is that the band's mix of self-promotion and slick production meld to create a solid addition to the genre, namely with the release of the new single 'Hope You’re Alright'.

Fly Felix is the passion project of creative director and producer Drew Tyler who works on the music with keyboardist and composer Eric McDermott.

The project, a self-branded sonic experience "fuelled by cosmic energy and driven by mysticism" has already drawn substantial interest from those in the indie scene. 'Beautiful Animal' the lead single from their debut album 'The Sun Will Wake You Up' recalls the dreamy rock and electronica meld of early Tame Impala with an accompanying beautiful music video influenced by tarot cards. 

The fact that their first album was released by their own label gives credence to the homemade appeal and comparison to Impala. Praise was lauded by some publications, calling the work a “stunning piece of indie-electronic music” that contains “instrumentals that will drift you into a daydream.”

 

The titular lead single 'Hope You’re Alright' follows the same formula that has already won the band praise and adds to it. Tyler obviously knows this genre well and knows the sound that he wants. With crisp production and a light bouncy melody, Tyler’s vocals glide over the dreamy instrumental. The content of the song itself is also somewhat uplifting. 

In honour of Mental Health Awareness Month, the song deals with empathy and making sure we are checking up on our friends and family (which is well conveyed with the lines “It might be way outta line / But I hope you're all right”). The beeping notification sound of a phone is played at the start which adds a nice modern detail to the message of the song as well as having the video shot remotely, entirely over FaceTime.

 

While their lush, dreamy aesthetic is not exactly ground-breaking in the genre, Fly Felix’s production and talent at creating melodies should ensure a large following and more creative development for years to come.

Josh Lambie

@jlamb325

Image: Fly Felix 'Hope You're Alright' Official Artwork