The Gift that is Her’s
Audun Laading, Stephen Fitzpatrick
Every spring, like clockwork, I put What Once Was on by one of my favourite bands, Her’s. It’s become a marker of time passing for me. I initially discovered Her’s four or five years ago - it was the winter time and we were just able to start going out again after one and a half years in lockdown. I’d blare them from my speaker whilst lathering on silver eyeshadow and thick black eyeliner that stretched from my eyelashes to my eyebrows. From the opening guitar riff that made my whole body fizz pop and crackle, to the ocean deep voice of lead singer Audun Laading, I knew upon first listen that this was a special song and a special band.
The indie pop duo met at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, graduating in 2016 and going on to perform around Liverpool, as well on the rising stage at Green Man festival. They were loaded with potential, loaded with talent and loaded with love for the music they were creating. This is obvious when listening to their album, Invitation to Her’s. The entire record is a masterpiece, demonstrating impressive musicality with beautifully haunting vocals, often gut-wrenching lyrics (‘my heart takes up all my strength, no more can I think of them, no more can I hold her in my thoughts’) and strikingly melancholic guitar. Nostalgia, yearning, reflection and heartbreak are all feelings Invitation to Her’s conjures up within me, every time I listen to it. In fact, their whole discography paints a picture of poignancy and hope - two feelings so abstract that being able to convey them with such success is a true demonstration of their deep-seated musical talent.
The death of both band members, alongside their manager Trevor Engelbrektson in 2019 due to a car crash, is one of the deepest tragedies to have ever happened in the music world. Three people had their lives cut devastatingly short. I cannot even begin to imagine how hard this loss has been for their family members and friends.
A couple of months ago, I was speaking to my friend about how much their music has meant to me, as it has to many other people since the band’s fruition in 2015. She told me she couldn’t listen to their songs because of how sad they made her feel. Of course I understand this sentiment - what happened is so terrible, and I can completely see how their music may bring up such sadness. However, Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading gave us an enormous gift by way of their beautiful and brilliant songs; as did Trevor Engelbrektson in providing us with the opportunity to hear them play live on tour. They shared with the world a part of themselves: their extraordinary talent, creativity and understanding for musical craft. This will be forever preserved in their music and their shows. We must never forget them, just as we must never stop listening to Her’s. All I can end this with is, thank you for being the band that you once were. I hope you are all resting in peace.
