There is nothing more exciting than watching a musician or band you truly enjoy come into themselves and evolve before your eyes. Mid-musical coming of age, The Hails are cashing into this excitement and to no surprise, it’s paying off beautifully. Sharing the fruits of hard work and experimentation, they’ve graced us with their latest single titled “Exonerate.”

Using the word “refined” to describe the overall feel of “Exonerate” doesn’t begin to outline the groovy track. While there are still shadows of the sound listeners fell in love with on their last record, there is also a new sense of clarity and most importantly sharpness in this new single. Much of this has to do with Matt Lewing (Magdalena Bay), who contributed to the track in its infancy. From the punctuated percussion, to discrete guitar and those bouncy Rhode Piano phrases (one of Matt’s many contributions), if the musical components of the “Exonerate” don’t draw you in — although that’s hard to believe — the lyrics might do the trick.

A third person retelling of a romantic guidance session, which lead singer Robbie Kingsley describes as, "when you try to give someone advice in their romantic endeavors, but they bury their head in the sand,” I’m sure most, if not all, people can internalize the storyline one way or another.

After victoriously returning to the stage this past Saturday at III Points Festival, and having received immense love from both fans and the press, The Hails seem to be in perfect form to take on (and deliver) this new era.

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