Humdrum - Every Heaven

Oliver, es ist Ende November, hast du deine 30 Lieblingsplatten des Jahres 2024 schon ausgewählt und in eine Reihenfolge gebracht? Ich hoffe nicht, denn ich habe da noch einen Kandidaten für dich!

Humdrum kombinieren Boy/Girl-Gesang, schrammelnde Gitarren, zuckersüße Melodien im Sinne von Jangle-Pop, C86, Sarah Records sowie Shoegaze und verzieren es noch mit einem schönen Keyboard-Schleifchen. Packe beispielsweise „See Through You“, „There And Back Again“ oder „Eternal Blue“ (alle unten zum Anhören) in eine Playliste mit Songs von The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, The Cure, Shout Out Louds sowie The Jesus And Mary Chain und sie fallen nicht negativ auf.    

Humdrum ist das Projekt von Loren Vanderbilt III., einem queeren Künstler aus Chicago, der sich auf dem Debütalbum „Every Heaven“ auf einen nostalgischen Trip in die 80er/frühen 90er Jahre begibt begibt. 

Auf „Every Heaven“ von Humdrum ist alles eher himmlisch als eintönig. Das Album ist über Slumberland Records auf blue Vinyl erhältlich. 

 

Granted, the songs on Every Heaven may have a ring of overriding familiarity about them (and indeed there are a few moments on some of them where you get that nagging feeling that you’ve come across that melody before) but that’s a minor and rather trivial issue, given that all ten songs are pure shameless indie pop perfection of a kind that has been sadly lacking for too long now. Indeed, sometimes it’s a welcome tonic and a refreshing antidote to much of the everyday sounds that have been assaulting our ears with so much relentlessness.

So who really cares if Every Heaven is unashamedly retrogressive and harking back to a long-gone era in some ways? Certain genres will always remain timeless and ultimately transcend all fads and trends regardless of whether they’re still ‘cool’ or not. On the strength of these sparkling pop confections collected together on this impressive debut, Loren Vanderbilt III certainly knows a thing or two about combining bittersweet sentiments with infectious choruses whilst harbouring a genuine passion for crafting brilliant tunes that proudly have all his musical influences on display.

(Louder Than War)

 

Driven percussion intensity propels the chiming 90s guitar flourishes of The Railway Children or earlier Aztec Camera into the jangly indie-rock stratospheres of an act such as Ducks Ltd, resulting in the glorious “road trip jangle-pop” of tracks best represented by There and Back Again, the simply sublime Superbloom and Wave Goodbye that rivals any elongated opening to any album during recent times.

Diluting the intensity (if never totally relinquishing it) only serves to emphasize the jangled beauty still further. Here the crystalline, chiming resonation of Felt-style riffs pervades every available space in Test of Time, whereas the understated jangle-pop of Chime School confirms that Vanderbilt’s ability to find the most precious of jangled riffs and hooks remains firmly intact.

(Janglepophub)