I have all the right to feel blue
Jessica and Henry = The Burning Hearts!
Aboa Sleeping is the debut LP from new Shelflife signees Burning Hearts. Burning Hearts are a duo created by Henry Ojala of Cats on Fire and Jessica Rapo of Le Futur Pompiste. I'd been looking forward to hearing their debut for some time now, and a few weeks ago I finally got to! As I expected, it's some of the best sunny, elecro pop I've heard in some time – probably since the last Club 8 record. In fact, some of the songs on Aboa Sleeping remind me quite a lot of Club 8 – "Various Lives" and "Close To Her" in particular. Elsewhere the songs bring to mind Stereolab (sorry guys, they do!) and even, sometimes, their late label-mates, Brittle Stars.
Album opener "I Lost My Colour Vision" is a gem. Placing it in the first spot was a good idea, too, as I can't see how anyone could resist AT LEAST tapping a toe to this one. The song opens with a bouncy, reverbed – almost watery – bassline and a quick programmed drumbeat. Once upon a time, I used to have a few qualms with programmed drums, but those days are long since gone and I think they really work well here (and throughout the rest of the record), keeping the song constantly moving straight through the chorus – which is just brilliant as well. I've got Jessica's vocals – "No colours can change my mood, I have all the right to feel blue, if that's what I'm into" (I think) – stuck in my head, and I'm sure you will, too. Jessica's soft and airy voice holds down the rest of the album as well, painting a blue sky and clouds above the album's already lush landscapes.
Aboa Sleeping is brilliant and catchy indiepop and quite a nice return to form for Shelflife Records – they've got a quite a record on their hands here. It's pretty early, but I think Burning Hearts have already made one of my favorite records of 2009! Aboa Sleeping will be out on February 10th and I'd highly recommend heading over to Shelflife and preordering the LP right now! Here's one of my favorite songs from the record to convince you a bit more, if you weren't already!
[MP3]: Burning Hearts :: Various Lives (Highly Recommended!!!)
Burning Hearts on MySpace!
Labels: Burning Hearts, Club 8, Shelflife Records, Stereolab
Stumble It!
posted by Matt at 11:49 AM
2 Comments:
Great review, Matt! I've been listening to this album quite a bit too, and I'm well enchanted by her lovely vocals. I can't wait to see what else Shelflife releases this year.
thanks, alex! i cant stop listening to it, each song just keeps getting better every time i listen it. i'm not sure whats coming up, but if its as good as this record i'll be really happy.
Post a Comment
<< Home