SMILE – Hot Friend

SMILE turns up the heat with Hot Friend, a sludgy, trip-hop-infused dive into obsession, lust, and the delirium of life on the road. The Cologne five-piece, fresh from their Eurosonic performance and tour dates with Fontaines D.C. and Squid, shifts from their 2023 post-punk darkness into something more sensual, eerie, and hypnotic.

Led by Albuquerque-born singer Rubee True Fegan, the track emerged from late-night touring haze, restless energy, and a need for something rawer in their live set. Recorded over a single weekend at ONE artist studio with Jan Philipp Janzen and Julian Stetter, Hot Friend is all about release: the pressure of performance, the weight of past heartbreak, and the thrill of something new waiting just beyond the haze. It’s murky and it’s hypnotic.
Now do me a favour, you are not so far from Mainz, come here and give us a show!