Hang Ten - “Balloon”

In March of 2010, the world lost Mark Linkous, known for his work as the mastermind behind Sparklehorse. In 2022, I have caught a glimpse of his spirit in the music of Hang Ten, with their track, “Balloon.” I do not know these guys. I do not know if they would consider this a compliment or if they’ve ever even listened in awe to Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot or filled their lungs with Good Morning Spider, but they should. Everyone should.

Nevertheless, people also need to hear “Balloon,” not because of what I just said, but because of the simple fact that through very minimal chord structure, listeners can witness resounding existentialism via the lyrics: “I would like to like myself, I wonder why?” And they are delivered effortlessly in a falsetto that, if you told me it was so, I would believe it to be the work of Linkous. And everyone who has ever experienced imposter syndrome is likely to resonate with the entire second verse:

Through another round

I hate these people and I hate this town

Never been this loud

It doesn’t matter, I’m just mouthing sounds

Again, I have no idea who this band is or why they’ve written this song, but I am totally here for it and it has become one of my favorite discoveries of the summer. I would also like to add that I did not set out to write about Hang Ten. They simply followed us back on Instagram and I pressed play on the first song that I found. And I am very grateful that I did because this blog entry wrote itself.

-HD