Hercules & Love Affair combine strong references to the dance and pop sounds of the 1980s with a contemporary cut-and-paste asthetic. This is very much a ’sound’ album, not a ’song’ album. The sound is spot on, the right mix between trendy 80s influences and new ideas. There are few songs that will stick in your head on their own merit, however.
Obvious 80s sounds like that dry bass somewhere between Disco and New Wave are pasted into more contemporary tracks. The overall result is more slick, less edgy. Listen to the lyrics, however, and you hear a much darker more leftfield act at work.
The selection of tracks here is not quite pushy enough to make you want to hit the dancefloor but too bouncey for having a chat with friends. Perfect early evening bar music or a good soundtrack for when the summer barbecue gets busy.
Hercules & Love Affair is a bit of a trendy New York art sphere melting pot. The band was formed by Brooklyn-based DJ Andrew Butler and features singer Antony Hegarty, frontman of leftfield Antony & The Johnsons.
Listen to ‘Hercules & Love Affair’ and download the album from iTunes.
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