Out already in his home-country Sweden and with an international release scheduled for February 2010 (re-branded as Pieces), Erik Hassle's debut confirms everything I suspected about him and then some: this guy really has a unique talent. Not that he invents the wheel or anything, but his voice and his brilliant song-writing skills are more than enough to take each one of these 12 tracks into a very special world. Popjustice has called him the acceptable side of emo and I can totally see where that comes from: his songs are invariably about the pains and wonders of falling in love / being heart-broken, and they do sound a lot like Coldplay or Keane. But the twist is that they are 1000 times better, probably because he sounds 1000 times more sincere: rarely does something feel so much like coming from the heart as in here. And lest we not forget the sensible attention put into those little details: I still can't get enough of that infectious synth-line in Don't Bring Flowers, or those literally-amazing martial drums in the perfect-emo-masterpiece that is Hurtful. As for the rest, the heartfelt lyrics, instantly classic melodies and bigger-than-life choruses are the other ingredients that make me want to shout out loud every single word in this record. Count on it being one of the albums of the year - 2009 or 2010, you choose. (9/10)
Erik Hassle - Bump In The Road (unofficial home video)
www.erikhassle.com
www.myspace.com/erikhassle
3 comments:
you convinced me to listen to the album. several times. now, at 7:50 a.m. it seems more appealing as the coffee hasn't kicked in yet.
i usually stumble in the boy band-like vocal line. yet, the second i say i don't like it, there's some little twist or sound effect which makes me go on listening. i can see the honesty, but i prefer Frankmusik's honesty, a bit more delinquent which puts the broken heart theme in a more ironic perspective (that's right, i need a bit of irony, cause i'm not a teenager anymore).
i love some site's description of Hussle as "the Zac Efron of pop music". who might be the Robert Pattinson of pop music? cause i think i'd prefer him.
it seems i can't keep it short with my comments. that's how it's done, isn't it? sorry!
8:30. album over.
best,
stefan
haha, i didn't know about that "Zac Efron of pop music" tag, that's funny!
i usually like both perspectives, irony or honesty, depends on the mood, although if you ask me, lately i've been in a non-irony phase. that's maybe why this album has hitted me so hard.
keep your comments coming :)
best,
pedro
Thanks for the review. I have been a fan of Erik's for awhile now, and I love the new album. :)
Post a Comment