From the windswept quiet of Yellowknife, Hughes, led by songwriter Benji Straker, returns with ‘Despite the Distance’, his own reimagined track that captures the fragile ache of watching your children grow up while time races on. It’s the first glimpse into his forthcoming self-titled debut LP, and if this track is any indication, we’re in for a record soaked in sincerity and shadowed by the passage of time.
‘Despite the Distance’ feels like a letter written in the margins of a photo album; part prayer, part memory, and part plea to freeze the fleeting. With a voice weathered by reflection and softened by affection, Straker sings of holding onto early years and wondering if he’s done enough, as a father and as a man. The new version, recorded with fuller instrumentation, breathes more deeply than its predecessor, layering glistening guitar lines and subtle percussion beneath verses heavy with emotional weight.
The backdrop is classic Hughes though, folk bones with surf-tinged limbs, steeped in wide skies and quiet moments. There’s a kind of northern clarity in the production, with space carved out for every emotion to settle.
Lyrically, it avoids sentimentality by leaning fully into vulnerability. Lines like “Was I man enough, did I do right by you” hit with an honesty rarely attempted in songs about parenthood. There’s no performative bravado here, just someone letting the ache of love and time speak plainly.
With ‘Despite the Distance’, Hughes crafts a heartfelt and resonant ode to the quiet heroism of fatherhood and the inevitability of change; proof that sometimes, the softest songs land the hardest.
