English duo Hurts are slowly gaining momentum around the world.
Though largely more well known in the European Nations, the band has been gaining more popularity in the United States. The duo consists of vocalist Theo Hutchcraft and keyboardist Adam Anderson primarily; both are originally from Manchester and started from humble beginnings as a more rock-heavy band called Daggers. Prior to its most recent release, Hurts have two other albums called Happiness (2009) and Exile (2012) which feature much darker and downtempo songs than their newest endeavor.
The single ‘Some Kind of Heaven‘ was the first to be released, giving the first hint of the more dance and pop sound to the album. Though opinions seemed divided over the change in sound style, most fans were ecstatic either way for the new music. Personally, I found the change in sound immensely fantastic! The first two albums had a beautifully clandestine and forlorn theme to them, but it was high time for a more sanguine album to give balance. Over the course of the next few months, the band released more singles that all had a unique quality to them. In order: Rolling Stone, Lights, Slow, and Wish all made their way to an official upload from the band’s Facebook page and fans were only gaining traction in their excitement for the official full album release.
Surrender was released to the market on October 9th, 2015 quickly debuting at number twelve on the UK album charts and selling 5,636 copies in the first week. Though the sales turn around was much smaller than their initial album Happiness, it was still an immense success for the band. The full album includes the ten tracks on standard release and thirteen tracks on the deluxe release. It is categorized as synth pop and it is quite the fitting category of the album as most of the tracks make you want to get up and move. A few melancholy songs still reside on the album of course but they are beautifully done as always. Slow, Wings, and Wish ground you as you move through the album by reminding you to take that moment to gather yourself and calm down between the high rising beats in the rest of the album.
With new releases of course comes new videos. The duo has never failed to disappoint with cinematically breathtaking videos and always manage to collaborate with fantastic artistic video directors who bring their songs to their full glory. The first music video release was for “Some Kind of Heaven”, as it was the first single. Set in an unknown time and place, a confused Theo Hutchcraft meanders into a room full of overly cheery onlookers who seem dressed for a 1940s dinner party. Things only get stranger as the video panels back and forth between the party and Hutchcraft being chased down a dusty barren road in the middle of the evening on foot. Mystery and confusion drive the video which is seemingly irrelevant to the song thus only adding to its charm.
The next video released was for “Wish”. This video unveiled a new side of Hurts with a simple black and white setting of Anderson at the piano with Hutchcraft serenading the audience with the ballad with sheets wrapped around his shoulders flapping in a breeze. Despite any occurring action or storyline the video envelopes you in a sense of amazement at the simplicity that still drives home a very disheartening message. Brilliantly moving and undoubtedly iconic, this video sets that new pace that this album promised from the start.
The final video so far has been for the song Lights which is the most dance and pop driven track on the album. Set in a red-lit club filled with bizarre characters we see an inebriated Hutchcraft dancing alone in a matador costume while an equally intoxicated young woman with hair tied to resemble horns meanders her way to the same dance floor. The two begin an enthralling tango in a drunken haze which progresses into a twirl of sex driven tension and violence. With such a lighthearted cherry tone you wouldn’t expect things to fall into coercive chaos but as the lights grow dimmer and the music turns into the pounding and thrashing of club metal music a fight breaks out and blood and punches are everywhere. In the blink of an eye as soon as the downturn is there is it gone and the optimistic music returns as our now bloodied sultry dance partners make their way into the soft light of day to make their final twirls.
In my own personal opinion as a long time fan, I found this album absolutely enchanting and I couldn’t be more pleased with the new direction in which the band seems to be going. So many of the tracks really hit you at an emotional core that you can relate to: whether it be through a happy or a sad memory. It could be something you pick on a day where you feel so happy you’re soaring on cloud nine or a day where you feel like utter sad garbage and yet this album will still make you feel comforted. The artistic choices alone on the graphics of the album are enough to draw in any cautious listener and the thriving beats and melodic voice will do the rest to make them a fan. Whatever is in the future for this young duo only looks brighter as they continue on making absolutely captivated and soulful music.
GIOVANNICS*MAGAZINE 