Since their formation in 2018, Bestfriend, the alt-pop duo of Vancouver-based Stacy Kim (lead vocals, guitar) and Toronto’s Kaelan Geoffrey (synthesizers, vocals), has been refining its unique cross-country collaboration. In an era where long-distance creative partnerships are increasingly common thanks to advances in music technology, Bestfriend has turned physical distance into an aesthetic signature, crafting tracks that feel both intimately handcrafted and playfully boundless. Their early work—such as 2021’s places I’ve left EP—leaned toward wistful bedroom pop, full of warm synths and melancholic vocals that blurred the line between nostalgia and immediacy. But with their latest single, “HEADSTART,” released on February 14 ahead of their May 2025 album, the duo leans into something livelier, more exuberant, and refreshingly unguarded.
Written in collaboration with Aidan Hogg (known for his work with G Flip and Sofia Isella), “HEADSTART” is, at its core, an exercise in pure, unselfconscious fun. It opens with delicate, twinkling synths that establish a shimmering, bubbling excitement before giving way to the sudden bite of crunchy electric guitar and the propulsive drive of layered drums. Beneath the buoyant instrumentation, Kim’s vocals remain as characteristically affectless and laconic as ever—a quality that, rather than dulling the track’s emotional impact, lends it an endearing, youthful earnestness. It’s crisp, bright, and deliberately unpolished.
“HEADSTART” distills what makes Bestfriend so appealing: breezy but never hollow, simple but never lazy, and playful without feeling trivial. As they prepare to release their debut album, this single serves as an enticing preview of what’s to come. If this is Bestfriend’s head start, it suggests a band still finding its stride—but fully embracing the momentum.
