Brace yourselves. HIGHWAYVES, the DIY-obsessive artistic collective, just dropped “FAMILY TREE”—a track so cinematic it’ll leave you gasping. It dropped on March 28th, 2025, and we’re still reeling.
Let’s get one thing straight: HIGHWAYVES doesn’t half-ass anything. This collective writes, records, produces, and even directs their own music videos, treating their art like a blood pact with listeners. It’s clear this is a hive mind of perfectionists—imagine if Nirvana’s angst collided with My Bloody Valentine’s haze, all filtered through a band that refuses to outsource their vision. The track’s mastered by Robin Schmidt (The 1975, Beabadoobee), whose polish adds stadium-ready sheen to HIGHWAYVES’ feral heart.
“FAMILY TREE” was inspired by some heavy real-life court cases and digs into family drama like a rusty nail. It opens with an eerie, minimalist verse—imagine cobwebbed pianos and whispered confessions—before erupting into a chorus where strings and guitars duke it out for dominance. The second verse plunges into abyssal grunge, all distorted basslines and teeth-gnashing tension, only to detonate into a finale that’s pure rock opera. This isn’t genre-blending; it’s genreslaughter, with classical elegance and shoegaze fog crashing into riff-laden indie rock.
Their music hits you with stark contrasts that mirror the chaos of fractured relationships: calm, storm, repeat. Their “obsessive approach” to production means every detail serves the narrative—the way the strings swell like a dam breaking, or how the shoegaze textures blur the line between anger and despair. It’s dark, sure, but there’s beauty in the bruise. The lyrics are “intimate” and “universal,” and we assure y’all listeners will see your own skeletons in HIGHWAYVES’ closet.
“FAMILY TREE” is like the band puking out their demons. This is the soundtrack for slamming doors, yelling at your windshield as you speed away, and anyone who’s ever felt suffocated by their own family. If the rest of their stuff packs this kind of punch, rock fans better buckle up – HIGHWAYVES are coming in hot.