Review: To mark its 15th anniversary, Hurts' debut album Happiness receives a long-awaited vinyl release as a rather special limited-edition picture disc. The synth-pop duo's breakthrough was originally released in 2010 and is revisited in full here with all the hits, featuring such as 'Better Than Love,' 'Wonderful Life' and 'Stay.' This debut vinyl pressing adds further value with a side of deluxe edition highlights including the festive fan favourite 'All I Want For Christmas Is New Year's Day' and Arthur Baker's remix of 'Wonderful Life.' It's a sleek and nostalgic listen that reminds of the moody glamour and melodic punch of Hurts' defining debut.
Review: This is not our first time falling for Jenny Hval. We might have been a little late to the party than some, initially encountering the angelic-voiced Norwegian singer-songwriter with her 2019 effort on Sacred Bones, The Practice of Love, but lost time has been made up for since. Landing again on 4AD, the label that hosted her preceding effort, 2022's Classic Objects, this latest is similar and yet different to what has come before. Tracks like 'Lay Down', which opens things here, present the Scandinavian voice at its sweetest, set against a backdrop of birdsong, fine-tuned for melody. Other moments take us into a dreamy otherworld, blissful harmonies and siren calls, ambient refrains invoking the great adventure that awaits us after this one. Or maybe that's just because the track in question is entitled 'I Want The End To Sound Like This'. Either way, so do we.
Review: Some albums deserve to stay buried, but Hydroplane's 1997 debut album is not one of those. An alternative project from shoegaze-influenced indie band The Cat's Miaow, the self-titled album offered a uniquely hazy, spaced-out blend of lo-fi dream pop vocals, atmospheric guitar textures, DJ Shadow style sample collage, stoned beats, Radoiphonic Workshop style electronic experiments and '90s ambient tropes. It's an unusual but hugely alluring musical melting pot that went largely overlooked at the time - hence this first ever vinyl pressing of the previously CD-only set. We'd recommend giving it a listen because it really is in a genre sub-category all of its own.
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