I want to start this review by quoting my first post on Hooray For Earth, from April 2007:
Hooray for Earth get an A for their persistence. They’ve made every effort to get this blogger’s attention. In fact, you might say they’re relentless. Yeah. That’s how I’d described their self-titled debut, as a matter of fact. Pop music that is driven by drums. In every song, it’s the drums that rise to the top of the mix and dominate the combination of growling synth and guitar. Under all that are the vocals, which seem secondary. Even “Magazines,” the record’s rare slow number (and one of it’s best tracks), is characterized by the beat.
So, has anything changed with Hooray For Earth? The short answer is, “Yes.” The songs are mixed better, and the vocals are much clearer. As an album, the work is like The Beastie Boys, circa Paul’s Boutique, than before. Many of the tracks are brief (about 2 minutes), and sound more like fragments or concepts than fully realized songs. Sometimes, they’re used as patches between songs like “Want Want Want,” a killer, fast-paced ballad (if such a thing is possible), and “So Happy” another relentlessly fast-paced tune. Other times, bits like “Party,” which clocks in at under 2:30, have enough room-shaking, hard-rock riffs to make it more than mere filler.
This is party music, for sure, but more than that, it’s a full-fledged record. Congratulations, boys. Your persistence has paid off. On Dopamine records.
Update! Bonus mpfree:
Noel Heroux (of Hooray For Earth) & DJ Die Young – “With Every Heartbeat” (Robyn Cover)
