If I don't make it, I love u

Experimental British rock trio Still House Plants build their sparse and evocative sound by layering the warping vocals of Jess Hickie-Kallenbach, the fractured guitar lines of Finlay Clark, and insistent drum patterns of David Kennedy. After building their ideas with early works like 2017’s Assemblages and 2020’s Fast Edit, the group received significant critical acclaim with their third studio LP, 2024's If I Don’t Make It, I Love U.

Having met at Glasgow’s School of Art in 2013, musicians David Kennedy, Jess Hickie-Kallenbach, and Finlay Clark soon struck up a musical chemistry, forming the band Your Hair Cut during their second year of studies. Soon rebranding as Still House Plants -- a fusion of the group’s first gig titled "singing for our house plants," and New York collective Still House Group -- the trio issued their first EP with 2016’s Still House Plants, released on Glasgow-based cassette tape label GLARC. Delivering sparse and discordant ballads like “Warm in the Car” and “Obi/Lowe’s,” the group’s intimate and experimental sound developed further on their 2017 EP Assemblages (once again on GLARC) and on their debut album Long Play, issued on Bison in 2018. Following a residency at London venue Cafe OTO, the group issued their sophomore album, Fast Edit, which featured throatier vocals and a more jazz-led set of instrumental patterns. In 2024, the group picked up significant critical attention with their third LP, If I Don’t Make It, I Love U. Breaking their monochromatic aesthetic with a bold orange "3" on its cover, the group’s third set saw them refine their vital sound even further. ~ David Crone