Single Review: I Hope This Email Kills Us Both by Orange Blossom Trail

by Liam M. Hennessey

Was this track released in mid-December? Yes. Did it still end up being my Single of the Year for 2025? Also, yes. Recency bias be damned, in a quiet year for music, Orange Blossom Trail already had two excellent tracks drop this year that would have been top 10 tracks of the year for me, with “It Says “Husky” On My Jeans” being right up there as a serious contender for my overall single of the year, along with “Manchild” by Sabrina Carpenter, “Ring Ring Ring” by Tyler the Creator, “Red” or “Fear is the Mind Killer” by Jesse Welles. However, with the late release of“I Hope This Email Kills Us Both”, a clear and decisive winner has been crowned for my Single of the Year for 2025. It wasn’t even close, for reasons I'll outline in this review.

First and foremost, Matt Goings’ production on this track continues to show why he is the most preeminent producer in Florida’s indie scene. Everything is crisp, clear, and yet my favorite part of the track is how he plays with the distortion and dissonance of Christian Moyer’s guitar playing. Its tone is as fuzzy as a bee's nest that just got hit by a wayward baseball, but the melody and harmony within cuts through clear as day. The track hits you like a wall of sound, but doesn't sacrifice what each part of the song's instrumentation has to offer. The guitars and vocals dance back and forth between gritty and smooth, the bass adds a nice weight to the track without burying itself in the mix, and the drums are perfectly punchy. While briefly used, the synth keys add an atmospheric and ethereal feel to the final build-up of the song that doesn't go unnoticed. If that wasn't enough to impress you, Matt also features in the track as backup vocals and improves the track with his presence. His high notes are woven into the melody acutely, and doesn't fall too far into the background like many backup vocalists before him. The attention to detail in the production and mixing is superb, especially for a song with as many moving parts as this one.

Likewise, when it comes to attention to detail, one can't go without mentioning the songwriting prowess that Moyers and the rest of the gang exhibit in this track. If “I Hope This Email Kills Us Both” were any catchier, it could in fact kill you. Orange Blossom Trail(OBT) has always had a knack for tasteful harmonies, and it shows on this tune to a point where this will be the default track I show people when introducing them to OBT from now on. It encapsulates everything I’ve been a fan of in this group; fantastic use of harmony, killer riffs, anthemic choruses that actually feel warranted, a general tendency to not be afraid of melodic aspects of songwriting without sacrificing a rhythm-based approach, to name a few qualities. OBT threads the needle perfectly between the sounds of 2000s Post Hardcore/Emo and the sound indie has had since the 2010s. Which is to say, I’ll need surgery to get rid of the earworm that they've given me.

One of course can’t mention a comparison of early 2000’s Post Hardcore/Emo without bringing up this track’s biting lyricism. The entire track is filled to the brim with one-liner after one-liner of quips so sharp you’ll cut yourself if you aren’t careful. The track is more or less a generalized diss track, with no specific target laid out in the lyrics. If you need something to listen to whilst writing a resignation letter, blast in the car after a crash out with a fake homie, or just play in the background while venting about that one bitchy coworker, this is exactly what the doctor ordered. If you're tired of pointless drama within the scene, this is your anthem. With sharp lyrics, production, and songwriting, this song hits it out of the park in every possible manner. Orange Blossom Trail continues to improve with every release they drop, and this tune is no exception, as this is my favorite released song of theirs by far. I have high hopes for their 2026 releases, and you should too. I’ve always known the Orlando scene has projects that rise above the standards of just being another local band, and Orange Blossom Trail most definitely is a part of that grouping. As I just said, I have high expectations for them this year, and even higher expectations in the years to follow. Legacy bands have to come from somewhere after all. Why not Orlando?

I give this track a rare, but well-earned, 10 out of 10.