GIRLS IN HAWAII

Releases 'Eldorado' – Fifth Album Marks Triumphant Return After Nearly a Decade

Belgian Indie Rock Icons Rediscover Joy Through Instinctive Songwriting and Collective Memory

Out Now via Capitane Records

+ Focus Track: "Drifting In The Summer Rain"

+ European Tour October–December 2026

Visualiser here

Album on Spotify here

Belgian indie rock band Girls In Hawaii release 'Eldorado', their fifth album, out now via Capitane Records. Nearly a decade after 'Nocturne' (2017), the band returns with a record that feels simultaneously like homecoming and leap forward—a reconnection with the simple pleasure of creating together, shaped by grief, transformation, and the courage to keep searching.

The Album: Chasing the Unattainable

'Eldorado' takes its title from the album's second single, evoking the pursuit of an ideal one chases without ever being certain of reaching it: a form of truth, a great song, a place where fears can finally rest. For Girls In Hawaii, Eldorado is far from comforting mirage. It is a tension, a force that keeps pushing forward despite human fragility, despite grief, despite doubt. Chasing the unattainable may well be what allows us to remain standing.

The album explores what drives us to keep going: climate anxiety, exhaustion, fading relationships, impossible goodbyes, childhood memories, and the challenge of finding one's place in an unstable environment. Yet the songs never surrender to despair. Instead, they search for anchors in beauty, human connection, and the simple feeling of still being alive.

The Focus Track: "Drifting In The Summer Rain"

"Drifting In The Summer Rain" captures Antoine Wielemans reflecting on twenty years passing and everything that emerged from them—life viewed in rear-view mirror mode. The structure is deceptively simple: a straight-ahead drumbeat, bass on three chords, a slightly hypnotic structure that unfolds slowly.

"Time passing, time that has passed," Antoine explains. "I imagine myself lost in my thoughts, reflecting on the twenty years that just went by. The structure of days, weeks, seasons, years going by is always the same. But so many outside elements come along to shake and disrupt all of that. I wanted a drumbeat that goes straight ahead, a bass on three chords, a slightly hypnotic structure. Like the base of a tried-and-tested recipe: always the same, but you add different ingredients, textures, colours at each part. Sometimes it's minimal and mono. Sometimes it becomes shimmering, stereo and floating with layers of arpeggios. Sometimes it turns rough, fiery, almost violent with heavy distortion and layers of voices that feel almost like a mantra."

The Return: From Loss to Renewal

Everything could have ended after 'Nocturne'. The band entered a period of uncertainty before the passing of longtime manager Pierre Van Braekel in July 2022. His death was both shock and turning point. In remembrance, Girls In Hawaii accepted an invitation from Ancienne Belgique to perform their 2003 debut 'From Here to There' for its twentieth anniversary. Four sold-out shows in Brussels in winter 2023 reignited something: collective energy, carefree joy, simple happiness.

Out of this renewed happiness gradually emerged the desire to write again. Lionel Vancauwenberghe and Antoine Wielemans returned to work at home—between bedroom and living room, far from large studios. Songs emerged through back-and-forth exchanges, intuition, feeling. Around thirty demos were created before the album took shape over a single month.

photo - Simon Vanrie

Creative Process: Return to Instinct

The return to craftsmanship reflects the band's state of mind: reconnecting with the original gesture, the first emotion, the excitement of a song appearing before it is polished too much. Vocals were often kept from earliest takes, preserving rough edges, fragility, humanity. The band resisted working with external producers, trusting their original instinct—adding only subtle touches, sometimes a hint of Auto-Tune inspired by Daft Punk and Giorgio Moroder.

This is a record about courage: the courage to continue after loss, to rediscover joy without forgetting those who are gone, and to keep believing that a song can still open a path forward.

Label & Community

After years with 62TV Records, Girls In Hawaii join Capitane Records, a Brussels-based label supported by Capitane Coop, an independent cooperative built around a short-circuit model. The choice extends a long-standing story: years earlier, it was Girls In Hawaii who entrusted Nicolas Michaux with the keys to their former rehearsal space—a disused Belgian Army screening room—where he gradually built what would eventually become Capitane.

About Girls In Hawaii

Formed in the early 2000s, Girls In Hawaii established themselves as cornerstones of the European indie rock scene. Their sound blends dreamy, fuzzy indie pop with influences including Grandaddy, The Flaming Lips, and Radiohead: melancholic, melodic, layered, often acoustic-influenced. Following drummer Denis Wielemans' tragic death in 2010, the band's 2013 return with 'Everest' received significant coverage for its emotional depth. In 2023, they celebrated their twentieth anniversary with a sold-out European tour.

Album Details

Album: 'Eldorado'

Release Date: Out Now

Label: Capitane Records

Format: Digital / Vinyl

European Tour

October–December 2026

• 20 October – London – Hootananny Brixton, UK

• 22 October – Berlin – Kantine am Berghain, Germany

• 28 October – Amsterdam – Paradiso, Netherlands

• 5 November – Paris – La Cigale, France

• 6 November – Lille – Aéronef, France

• 15–16 December – Brussels – Ancienne Belgique, Belgium (15 December SOLD OUT)

Full tour dates: https://girlsinhawaii.be/

Official Links:

Website: https://girlsinhawaii.be/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gihband/

Capitane Records: https://capitane-records.net/