HTRK - Rhinestones (Haunted Blue Vinyl) Vinyl LP

HTRK, the Australian duo of Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang, entered their 21st year with a reflective outlook. Following a series of performances and installations throughout 2024, they partnered with longtime collaborators Ghostly International to repress their 2009 full-length debut, Marry Me Tonight (out February 7, 2025), bringing the release to streaming services for the first time. They also shared String of Hearts, a new EP featuring covers and remixes from friends including Loraine James, Liars, Double Virgo, and more. While honoring their past, the duo continues to move forward, now announcing the reissue of their beloved 2021 album Rhinestones.

Self-released in fall 2021, Rhinestones marked a subtle resurgence for HTRK, showcasing the Melbourne group at the height of their powers. Driven by a fascination with “eerie and gothic country music,” the album is an elegant nine-song suite of windswept emotion and heartbreak noir, built from skeletal arrangements of guitar, voice, metronomes, and FX. From whispered laments to acoustic eulogies and downtempo vignettes, the record draws from the economy and brevity of Western folk, filtered through a narcotic, nocturnal lens. The album earned acclaim from Gorilla vs. Bear, The Wire, and Pitchfork, which noted: “Over the past decade, the Melbourne group’s music has grown lighter, gentler, and more inviting with every release. Here, they trade their minimal-wave roots for unexpected forays into gothic country.”