Her's

Formed in Liverpool in the mid-2010s, Her's was an English-Norwegian dream pop duo whose bright, minimalist sound earned them a devoted international fanbase. Singer/guitarist Stephen Fitzpatrick and bassist/singer Audun Laading enjoyed critical acclaim right from the start, releasing a series of well-received singles for the Heist or Hit label, which were later collated into the 2017 compilation, Songs of Her's. The band's star was on the rise in 2018 when they released their formal debut, Invitation to Her's, and they ramped up their touring to meet the demand. On March 27, 2019, following a show in Phoenix, Arizona, both members and their tour manager were killed in a head-on collision.Fitzpatrick, a native of Barrow-in-Furness, in Cumbria and Laading, who hailed from the Norwegian island of Flekkerøy, met while studying music at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. The two friends initially began recording together in 2015 as a lo-fi bedroom pop experiment. With Fitzpatrick playing guitar and singing lead vocals and Laading hangling bass and backing vocals, they developed an amalgam of glassy dream pop and jangling indie rock that utilized drum machines amidst an otherwise minimalist aesthetic. Using the name Her's, they released their first single "Dorothy" in 2016 on U.K. label Heist or Hit. Paired with eccentric and often comic videos, their early singles were well-received, especially "What Once Was," which bubbled up into viral success. These and six others were later compiled to create the 2017 release Songs of Her's. The band made their proper debut, Invitation to Her's, a year later, earning more positive reviews and prompting further touring. In March of 2019, Her's was on an 18-date tour of the U.S. when tragedy struck. On the morning of March 27, they had just finished a show at the Rebel Lounge in Phoenix and were driving west to their next date in California when they were involved in a head-on collision with another driver. Fitzpatrick, Laading, and their American tour manager Trevor Engelbrektson were all killed.Since their deaths, the music they made as Her's has continued to earn new fans and on the fifth anniversary of the accident a memorial fund, Friends of Her's, was launched in Liverpool to help combat homelessness in their honor.
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