JUST FRIENDS TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM HELLA
Leave it to Just Friends to make being called “basic” cool. The Bay Area crew’s highly-anticipated new album, HELLA, will finally arrive on March 4 from Pure Noise Records (pre-order here), and its first single “Basic” ft. Lil B + Hobo Johnson is out today.
From its triumphant opening and an impossibly catchy hook to the image of Lil B and Hobo Johnson “at the mooooo-vies,” the song finds these Northern California superheroes embracing all the things they love about their crew. In a time where close-knit groups are more encouraged than ever, “Basic” is an anthem about the simple life and spending time with your best friends doing whatever.
“This song happened by accident!” laughs vocalist Samuel Kless (he/him). After a chance encounter during a protest last summer led to Lil B’s verse on the song “Stupid,” an unlikely collaborative kinship began to form and the Based God asked if there were any more tracks he could jump on.
“Basic caught me by surprise, it’s so funny and silly, it makes me laugh and lifts my spirit,” vocalist Brianda aka Brond (she/her) shares. “That’s super valuable for the times we’re living through, the growing pains JF overcame recently as a band, and for me as a songwriter and human being.”
Around the same time, Sam asked Frank Lopes Jr., more widely known as Hobo Johnson, if he’d like to jump on the same track. A few days later, “Basic” went from a simple, unfinished hook to this electric ode to the friendship and community surrounding Just Friends, including the rest of the band: bassist Kevin, guitarists Brandon and Yanko, and drummer Ben.
“The way Lil B and Hobo’s verses set us up felt like I was being handed a cool new toy to play with,” Brond continues. “Frank blew my mind with his verse! It’s hilarious that he’s never met Lil B and wrote a whole verse around being besties. Their silliness felt like an invitation to be carefree too.”
Gamechanger. The term probably doesn’t fit any album better than HELLA, a jam-packed spectacle of rhythmic funk, riotous punk, and just about everything in between. With nearly as much character as the band members themselves, the time, dedication, and growth Just Friends went through to create HELLA bursts through the speakers.
Then there’s Honey TV — the band-operated and owned clothing line that not only distributes their own limited merch as well as some of their peers, but has also grown to sell to customers all over the world. Their unique design style incorporates street and skate culture with a mission to make the world they leave behind a better place.
The love this band has for one another and their community is obvious. Every inch of HELLA and whatever Just Friends puts their stamp on is drenched in sincerity, and while that can often lead to being misunderstood, as they sing on “Basic,” this crew couldn’t care less.
“We get high when life gets low, thank god I know you.”