Music Reviews
Artist:
Hercules And Love AffairTitle:
Hercules And Love AffairLabel:
DFA RecordsWebsite:
http://www.myspace.com/herculesandloveaffair.com
One of the most intriguing new bands to emerge from the chic New York electro circuit, Hercules and Love Affair release their self titled debut LP which features vocals from Anthony Hegarty of Anthony & The Johnson’s fame. Most notably on stand out track’s “Raise Me Up” and “Blind” which both recapture 70’s disco instrumentals and merges them with modern rave beats. It’s the same theme throughout the album and Hegarty’s captivating vocals make it all that more original. The vigour and retro vibrancy is a far cry from his melancholic murmurs on his own mercury prize winning album but illustrates his early influences.
It’s not just Hegarty’s vocals crooning their way through this brooding disco record. Transsexual Hip Hop artist Nomi features on a few gems but none are more outstanding than the ultra stylish R&B track, “You Belong.” It’s the type of song with lyrics that Justin Timberlake wouldn’t kick out of bed or the kind of beat that Timbaland wouldn’t *cough* plagiarise. In any case this record boasts some reflective moments of genius shrouded in nostalgia, let’s hope that they stop calling the band a “project” and we hear more from these fashionable New Yorker’s.
