Hue And Cry catch up with 50 years of electronic music.

A radical turn

You might associate Hue And Cry with smart modern jazz; brass stabs, frantic syncopation, precise keyboards and a contemporary big band sound. In this, their 16th album, they take a radical turn – making music with synthesisers. It’s a new venture for them, as they drag themselves into the 20th century. And not a moment too soon!

Brothers Pat and Greg Kane are no strangers to the charts, peaking at number 6 with Labour Of Love from the Seduced and Abandoned album which was released in 1986. Their sound was a refreshing beacon in the late 80s polished pop landscape. Amongst Rick Astley, Whitney Houston, Wham and Madonna, their punchy compositions and thought provoking, narrative lyrics stood alone.

The accompanying press release says Everybody is “a bold new chapter in a creative journey that began at the dawn of electronic pop.” It’s taken them a while but you know what they say about things that are worth having.

Fiercely distinctive

The voice of the duo, Pat, cites inspiration for the new sound from David Bowie, Simple Minds, Japan and The Human League. You might then be forgiven for expecting to hear those influences in the 10 tracks of Everybody. It’s not noticeable, which is probably a good thing given Hue and Cry’s fiercely distinctive style.

Throughout, Greg’s compositions and Pat’s distinctive vocals load every track with a generous jazz/soul topping. Does the combination work? Let’s find out.

Legato and staccato

Stronger is a disco anthem, opening with a relentless sequencer rhythm, bouncing into Pat’s trademark mix of legato and staccato. It’s a bit Gloria Gaynor mixed with Erasure, a story about accepting love and growing from the acceptance. Distorted percussion and a wailing overtone complete the electronic soundscape that the duo were aiming for. So, achievement unlocked there then.

Everybody Deserves To Be Loved sounds a bit like an 80s arcade game soundtrack with its twinkly fill and simple rhythm. Climbing melodies combine with relatable lyrics about healing a relationship.

Inevitable comparisons

Make My Day is funky soul reminiscent of Soul II Soul. One problem with joining the whole electronic thing this late in the game is that everything reminds somebody of something. Comparisons are inevitable – the niche that Hue And Cry carved out in the late 80s set them on a different path to this. It’s good stuff, once you get used to the more relaxed vocal pacing balanced against the intentionally less organic mix. With Hue And Cry, you don’t have to guess what the songs are about. Make My Day is about someone who makes my day.

And Then You Bloom has that trademark urgency. A little bit Marc Almond, perhaps, if it’s possible to have just a little bit of him. A song about someone who lights up a room when they walk in. There’s a theme emerging here. As Pat says, these all turned out to be love songs.

Living and loving

Dissolve and Disappear is a laid back, ambient track. A gently phasing background carries instantly recognisable lyrics which soar above the “wall of arpeggiators and synths“, to paraphrase Pat’s comments on the press release. This song feels much more Hue And Cry first, technology second. It’s a song about being saved by love.

I Remember is a potential Europop dancefloor filler. Those sharp stabs and heavily punctuated phrases are a sure sign that the Kane brothers are in the house. Speaking of which, this track seems to move us from the late 80s into the early 90s whilst also blending in some chords and key changes which do sound a bit Level 42. I suppose that if you were to imagine what a synth-laden Hue and Cry might sound like, Level 42 would be a good guess. It’s a song of gloriously nostalgic lyrics, a life spent living and loving.

Brooding passion

In Our Ruins is the most synth-heavy track, charting the ups and downs of a relationship, something we’ve all worked through. A pleasing melody sits on top of a thumping bass line and vocals fill the gaps in between like salted caramel sauce filling the gaps between layers of chocolate cake. It’s a rich, smooth, joyful combination. Oh, the song’s good too.

Kinda Blue, Kinda Love is a bit Erasure in its pounding bass line and sizzling percussion. The words “I am a chemical, looking for your mineral” call back to My Salt Heart from 1991; “Necessary for me like a chemical“. It’s the basest definition of love, a physical dependency that goes beyond the emotional surface. There’s a real brooding passion lurking below the dour presentation of these Glaswegian brothers.

Meant to be

Force Majeure is another disco anthem, slowing the pace a little with a melodic angle which probably sounds the most like classic Hue And Cry. For a duo who have only just discovered synthesisers, they’ve gotten themselves up to speed pretty quickly. Everything fits together as if it was meant to be.

Broken Gods has echoes of Marc Almond’s recent collaboration with Starcluster, a kind of electro-retro thing. You can dance to the chorus whilst the verse would have you swinging your arms, waiting for the pace to pick up again.

But is it any good?

If you’re a Hue And Cry fan like the young man above, then it’s a grower not a shower. It takes a few listens to get your head around what the Kanes are aiming for and once you do, you start to hear the layers of creativity, the balance between the familiar and the novel. Perhaps it was quite a challenge for them to tear themselves away from what they’ve done before and that’s admirable. This isn’t ‘I just bought a synth, what can we do with it?’, it’s a serious fusion of everything they’ve done before and whatever might come next.

If you’ve ever seen the band live, you’ll know how visceral their performance is and how they flow with each other, the music and other musicians. If this new sound has reduced that down to two brothers and a pile of electronics then what remains is the very essence of what makes Hue And Cry so special.

Yes, it’s good. Dust off your old dancing trousers and give it a spin. You’ll thank me later.

Here’s Stronger:

Hue And Cry: Website

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