Letters to Cleo, a band that rewrote the rules to alternative rock by injecting the subgenre with a rush of power pop and female energy, were out in full force over the weekend.
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Hyping up the crowds at the Des Moines Arts Festival yesterday, June 28, the band played a multi-track set that, of course, included their signature hit, “Here & Now.”
“Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors got The Des Moines Arts Festival going in the best way ever and the crowd felt every note,” Degy Entertainmentwrote about the event on Instagram. “Then Letters to Cleo and Fastball brought us back to the ’90s, the days of mixtapes and MTV. Turns out those songs still hit just as hard. Maybe harder. 🎶 Some things only get better with time.”
For ‘90s kids, “Here & Now” was the ultimate vocal challenge, a complete diction trap that demanded perfect enunciation of a whirlwind of nearly indecipherable lyrics. The song lived on countless mixtapes, blasted from bedroom stereos, and probably inspired more than a few viewers to watch MTV with subtitles.
The song was even difficult for Letters to Cleo frontwoman Kay Hanley, who told Songfacts in 2022 that the track’s rapid-fire, wordy hooks made for an oral marathon that required intense mental and physical effort.
“I love playing it,” she said. “I love singing it. It’s hard now—it challenges me. I can’t sleep on that song. It’s hard, but I love it.”
You’d never know it, though. Last night, Hanley nailed the song from, “The comfort of a knowledge of a rise above the sky,” to, “But could never parallel the challenge of an acquisition in the.” If you know, you know. The biggest single from their debut album, Aurora Gory Alice, the track peaked at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 and propelled its parent record to No. 123 on the Billboard 200.
Formed in Boston by vocalist Hanley and guitarist Greg McKenna, the group eventually included Michael Eisenstein, Stacy Jones, and Scott Riebling. The name of the band came from Hanley’s pen pal, and though the band said farewell in 2000, they have since reunited for touring and performances.
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