Hooray For Earth: True Loves

Hooray For Earth
True Loves
Rating: Woof Daddy

Sounding like a lot of bands, but commanding their own distinct sound, Hooray For Earth is rooted in the dense, lush synth-pop of the 80s, brought into a 2010s context. Each track on their debut True Loves is built on layer upon layer of gorgeous, warm synthesizers, almost tailor made to hit the cheap seats of a stadium, but intricate and emotional enough to entrance the most jaded bedsitter. Perfectly paced, with melodies like earworms, True Loves is chock full of endlessly catchy singles that get more infectious with each listen. Their self-titled debut album and subsequent EP Momo only hinted at what this band was capable of, and subsequent tours with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and work with Twin Shadow over the past year really honed their craft, creating a truly wonderful album.

The trance-like synths and beats of "Sails" is the perfect entry point to Hooray For Earth, steadily gaining in intensity, the swirling keyboards in perfect combination with the chanted vocals.



First single, and title track, "True Loves" is heavily percussive, recalling Yeahsayer with a more industrial, reggae feel.



The standout track for me is "No Love" with its quirky hip-hop beats, bubbling electronics, and 80s synth stabs and horns, taking over a darker tone at the chorus. The synth/guitar breakdown is stellar.



And there are plenty of just flat out great pop songs. "Bring Us Closer Together" sounds like a number 1 hit from back in 1984, a mix of Tears For Fears and Go West.



"Last Minute" is a slowed down, synthed up take on 60s wall of sound production techniques, featuring a lovely vocal from Noel Heroux. "Hotel" also borrows some synth and guitar melodies from The Cars back catalog, but adds their own unique spin.

Hooray for earth - Hotel by sthelion

But always brings me back to the album is their relentless experimentation and ability to turn odd sounds into something warm and inviting. The almost tribal, Yeahsayer-like closer "Black Trees" builds from a base of dense percussion and ghostly keyboards into a hypnotic swirl of a song.

Hooray For Earth - Black Trees by Dovecote Records

"Realize It's Not The Sun" is an impeccably constructed opener, using mostly voices as effects, until the percussion and abstract guitars move in on Heroux's lush falsetto.



Hooray For Earth have been making music since 2006, slowly building their sound and releasing singles here and there, but hesitant to release their second album too quickly. Based on their earlier material (aside from Momo), True Loves did not seem the likely outcome. In this age of everything being released quickly with little forethought, it is a breath of fresh air seeing a band take the time to work on their sound so that they are releasing quality music. True Loves is exciting and one of the best records of the year.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.