Discovery.

Every 10 years or so (maybe even longer) I discover a musician, album or band that has a deep impact on my soul.

In November of 2025, Jack Johnson put out a single on YouTube called “Hold On To The Light” with a band called Hermanos Gutiérrez. I had never heard of these guys but when I watched the video on his channel I was blown away with the way these two brothers played. Super chilled and melodic. 

Then shortly after I saw Jack on YouTube with Hermanos Gutiérrez and G Love promoting his Surfilmusic album and documentary. It was on SoCal Sound and it talked about how the brothers met Jack, came up with a riff for “Hold On To The Light” and ended up making a number of tracks together.

I have always been a Jack fan (long before the Curious George stuff) and was pretty blown away how HG made Jack’s songs sound more interesting.

So I went to YouTube and went deep down the HG rabbit hole.

What you notice first is how these two brothers dress beyond rad. Not trying to be rad. Just effortless radness. Like Selvedge Denim with an old school satin Atlanta Braves Jacket.  

The real trigger for me though is the video below.

Hijos Del Sol. 

They are not even in the video. It’s shot in black and white and one of the most beautiful film/videos I have ever seen.

It opens slowly with “recuerdos” in an open field then cuts to black with “hijos del sol” and the groove starts (note the dude’s beard on the old motorbike—that’s where I am headed). This is a haunting video as it unfolds and then cuts to “railroad vista” and the credits run with “sonora”.

I have probably watched this video 50 times at least because it’s beautiful music but from a creative perspective it’s everything I admire. It’s rare to find something like this and opened up a whole new world  as I studied more about this duo.

What’s interesting about this video/film is it doesn’t follow the sequence of songs on the album. The songs fit the film and flow perfectly together. That’s amazing to me because the flow of the album track by track is flawless.

Then I spent 6 months listening on repeat to every HG record and this summer saw them open for Jack Johnson at an outside venue in Toronto. Not many real fans there and the venue was pretty empty but it was very cool to see them play live. They also joined Jack to jam for a number of tracks with vintage surf footage in the background which to me was the best part of the show...but the crowd was pretty quiet through this segment because they wanted to hear the Curious George songs and didn’t really get how incredibly creative this portion of the show was. That’s just me though. I do appreciate jamming and great surf filmmaking so I really couldn’t care less about Upside Down.  

In September, HG released Los Ojos Del Condor recorded in Nashville with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. I have listened to that album at least twice a day since it came out.

Musically, I think this band is at a whole other level with songwriting and playing.

I was lucky enough to sit second row at a show a couple of weeks ago in Houston. Second row and the ticket was $57.00—not the insane prices bands are charging now for shows. When you are that close you can actually watch them play.  

Every note.  
Every chord structure.

Not a missed note the entire show and I know every note inside and out from listening to these guys nonstop for the past year. But to me HG is not just a band. They have built a completely unified brand with every single thing they do.

Every video. Each graphic they produce is absolutely nailed.

The merch at the show looks like they are a clothing brand in business for decades.

Hoody. Bag. Stickers. Cap. T-shirt. Posters. All made with world class execution.  

And not charging what other bands charge for dogshit merch (excluding Nine Inch Nails whose merch is killer).

They speak softly introducing the show as being taken through landscapes which is exactly the feeling you get when you watch them play live.

Each song they tell a story about it before they play it.

A small platform on the stage with Fender amps and one guitar each only. Estevan plays a Gretsch and Alejandro plays a Silvertone guitar and a steel lap top guitar which creates sounds like they were being sung.

To build a unified brand is incredibly difficult and rare. I can count on one hand the amount of brands that are unified in everything they do.

As a band Hermanos Gutiérrez have built both a musical experience unlike anything I have heard or seen. As a brand, what they have built is incredibly rare.

Check em out at www.hermanosgutierrez.ch

Peace

- ralph | fr.