The High Plains Drifters “He Reminds Me of You”

If there is one thing The High Plains Drifters aren’t interested in right now, it’s contemporary synthetics as they apply to a hook, and if this wasn’t known to the world before, it will be once “He Reminds Me of You” finds regular rotation somewhere on the dial this November. Celebrating the foundations of straight-up pop music while planting its stylistic feet firmly in the experimental camp, “He Reminds Me of You” is probably one of the more beat-focused tracks of its kind to come across my desk in 2022, but truthfully, it’s also one of the most melodically addictive from top to bottom.  

Lyrics aren’t utilized as the main point of expression in this single so much as the tone of Christina Benedetto’s lead vocal and, more specifically, how it reflects off of the bassline. The groove that starts and ends with the cadence of her verse, the drums, and the bass part is almost solely responsible for gorging the mood behind the lyricism in “He Reminds Me of Your,” and although the words have enough substance to stand up with the high caliber musicianship here, they could never eclipse the instrumental thrust in terms of communicativeness. That’s entirely by design on the part of the artists sharing the studio in this recording, and if it’s not, it’s nonetheless a look they wear well.  

The music video for “He Reminds Me of You” is rather swanky but quite complementary to the posh beats in the background, producing a cerebral finished product that could appeal to indie pop fans as much as it would the alternative rock (ala U2) revival crowd which, despite their similar interests, are two audiences that don’t usually reach for the same records anymore. It might not have been made to resemble the mainstream model, but once again, that’s what wins most of The High Plains Drifters’ fans over at the end of the day.  

There isn’t any pretentiousness in the players here, and whether it’s the drummer, the guitar player, or any of the four singers contributing a verse to this mix, it feels the chemistry between them is entirely natural and not being produced using the technology afforded by a professional recording studio. You can’t fake the kind of cohesion that’s required to break off a beat as seductive as the one we find lurking around the shadows in this track; if you’re lucky, you’re able to capture it at its most unrefined and raw inside of a jam session long enough to cut a single as sexy as this hot new offering is.  

If “He Reminds Me of You” is just a preview of what the future has in store for the Norway-based The High Plains Drifters and their growing discography, it would be safe to say that we can expect to see their profile expand exponentially across the pond in the United States in the next couple of years. This group has the chops to attract listeners of all backgrounds, and when taking into account the increasingly fashionable status of alternative pop around the world, material like “He Reminds Me of You” could go a long way toward establishing this band as a reliable moniker in the game well outside of their home country. 

Mindy McCall