Chris DeLine

That little part of my heart that still has a soft spot for Slayer inevitably gawks at the idea of even remotely enjoying an album like Hercules and Love Affair. The album’s songs, which almost continually neglect any sort of climactic high, blend seamlessly into a single epic pile of retro-reaching Euro-trash waste…but, they kind of grow on you. They band is musically sincere, aurally satisfying and it acts as one of the few diversified groups in a landscape steadily influenced by Chromeo knockoffs…as if Chromeo weren’t average enough, y’know. What I question when hearing the album isn’t its pretentious modernism, but rather what might be below the chinks in its otherwise glaringly hipster shell. Does music have to sound timeless to be relevant, certainly not, and Hercules and Love Affair certainly sounds far from timeless. But like Slayer there is a denseness to its sound that aggressively denounces its mainstream appeal. Yes, this music is perfect for a club setting, but only certain clubs…the lady who sits next to you at work isn’t heading out to ladies night to request “Blind” – she still probably wants to hear “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and and butt-load of Nickleback…just how it is…(not that that’s bad either). It is kind of a shame however, because “Blind” is one of the best tracks on the album and deserves to be heard by a broad audience. All that in mind, just as with a band like Slayer, I’m not too sure that there’s a whole lot below the surface…hipster or the latter…which is why I imagine I’ll be giving them about as much of my listening time as I do Slayer…which would be to say almost none.

[This post was first published by Culture Bully.]