Though it’s perhaps an argument you can make at any time, there is a sense in the growing value of the cultural currency that is nostalgia. A wistful longing for a better time with a rose-tinted view of the past is an enticing prospect. On the other hand, when this sentimental aspect of nature is hijacked, you get an unmistakably hollow feeling. Often, it’s not nostalgia alone that brings a sound back into the zeitgeist; the moment requires a bit of ‘refurbishment’ to balance the old with the new.
With their new single ‘Supreme’, that is what Iglu & Hartly intend to serve. Philosophy aside, the band describe the track as “a high-octane anthem designed to capture the same riotous, party-starting energy that first put us on the map.” It’s an apt description, they open the doors steadily, with a noughties vocal delivery alongside atmospheric guitars but a powerful rhythmic pulse.
That all means that when you get to the chorus, you feel transported back into 2009 when their worldwide hit ‘In This City’ was climbing the charts and blasting out on our radios. Funky elements and soaring synths add a sense of glitter to the boisterous party-animal sonic character.
Fit to burst with that bright, optimistic sound, it’s tailor-made for an excitable crowd in a small venue, making the track the perfect companion to Iglu & Hartly’s 2026 UK tour, up and down the country from London to Bristol to Glasgow.
In their words, “We wanted to bring that signature LA heat back to the UK with ‘Supreme.’ This tour is all about celebrating that timeless ‘sweat’ soaked hype’ with our Harties, proving that the California sun never really set on the Iglu & Hartly sound.” Selling out multiple dates, there’s no case for a lack of appetite, a tight fan community once again showing their strength.
For those not already aware, Iglu & Hartly’s initial rise was spectacular, the Isle of White festival playing host to a massive performance as their single earned praise elsewhere. After a hiatus, the band returned in 2018, a revitalised energy once again proving a tour de force. The start of 2026 is all the more interesting, the band looking to their roots for inspiration, but by no means creating a carbon copy of that sound. With all the fond memories of that track seventeen years ago, they create an environment open to fans old and new, laced with an infectious and refreshing independent shimmer.