Customer Reviews

Hercules & Love Affair

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I'd only ever heard of "Hercules & Love Affair" from glowing reviews I saw on loads of websites which piqued my interest. Listening to this album is like stepping back into the seventies; the Disco era in particular. Thumping bass lines, heavy synths, stomping beats, and loads of horns give a contemporary, yet retro feel.

Featuring the haunting mournful vocals of Antony Hegarty (from Antony & The johnsons) on most tracks, the group's eponymous debut features just 10 tracks, but each is outstanding, from more sombre opening cut "Time will", to the horn filled largely instrumental "Hercules' theme" (which reminds me a bit of eighties UK group Imagination).

Other upbeat numbers are the keyboard adorned "Athene", the very disco-ish "Blind", the throbbing horn-filled "This is my love" (with a Jazzy feel and spoken/sung vocals from DJ Andy Butler), the incredibly catchy "Raise me up", and closing cut "True false, fake real" (great percussion and a capella singing). "Iris" and "Easy" take the tempo down, both are subdued atmospheric numbers.

My favourite song is "You belong", which is House/Disco with a razor sharp bubbly synth line. Incredibly catchy and very clubby.

From the glowing reviews I'd read about the album, I half feared it would be one of those arty albums that would be greatly admired but difficult to get into. Happily, its not the case with this clever, superb album which just gets better with each spin. A stellar debut!

This is what Ladytron's Light And Magic should have been -- the moody, lonely, arty city-hipster dance album of the 2000s. Hercules And Love Affair is an extremely emotional album, to the point where it starts to seem a bit unhealthy. The songs make ostentatious, preening displays of loneliness and sorrow. They're dramatic to the point of abstraction, losing resemblance to reality. Or, at least, if anybody were to act this way in real life -- perhaps someone with a lot of idle time to spend hyper-focused on every minute detail of their own emotions -- they'd probably be very difficult to get along with.

But it sure makes for brilliant theatre. It's like looking at an abstract allegory of "sorrow" or "passion." The emotions are so exaggerated and decadent that they take on a classical quality. The album's use of the Greek theme (songs reference Hercules, Athena and Iris) is a very inspired touch -- Greek tragedy is basically made out of the same material. I even wish there were more of this. Just think what they could do with the story of Achilles!

It might take a couple of listens to see just how dark the album is, since it is very fast-paced and partially rooted in hedonistic disco music. Even the slower songs have a very firm, up-tempo rhythmic backbone. Nonetheless, of all the songs, only "Hercules Theme" sounds jaunty and cheerful, and the vocalist's sexy mewling actually sounds like fun. Everywhere else, though, there is no salvation in sensuality. The reverberating, nocturnal synth line in "You Belong" leads to the tortured chorus (and neat bit of gender-bending), "You belong to him tonight / there is nothing I can do," sung in a half-plaintive, half-snarling tone. Opener "Time Will" is a long, seductive build-up that eventually culminates in a burning, operatic jilted-lover's lament from Antony Hegarty.

Musically, the disco connection is the most obvious. Chugging seventies bass appears in "Athene," "This Is My Love" and "Raise Me Up." For the techno connoisseur, though, the album offers some of the most authentic Chicago house and Detroit techno around. The first clue is the chilled synth at the very end of "Time Will," which is pure Derrick May (the vignette "Rest" on Innovator sounds exactly like this). The bassline in "Easy" is another vintage Chicago touch. Eighties techno was built on these mechanical-sounding rhythms, each processed note awkwardly separated from the others. (The rattling, spacy drum track in "Easy" is something else entirely, though -- perhaps closer to early nineties IDM?) But the real payoff is at the end -- the bonus track "Classique #2" is a perfect Detroit-style, instrumental twelve-inch club single. It's got the no-frills beat, the mechanical bass mentioned above, and a funky staccato synth lead, looped endlessly, with occasional vocal samples and long stretches where the melody breaks and the rhythm grinds by itself.

The vocal duties are handled in the collective style favoured by Massive Attack and Gorillaz, with four vocalists. Their styles contrast very well. All the most fiery and dramatic vocal parts are handled by Antony Hegarty. Compared to him, Kim Ann Foxman is a much more limited singer, but the production skillfully strengthens her voice by mixing it down and blurring it with the music. This quieter approach sounds relaxing and dreamy, a warmer respite in between Hegarty's nerves-on-edge histrionics. "Iris" even encourages one to look outside oneself and share the moment with someone else, a valuable reminder in the midst of all the exhibitionistic passion flying around.

The album also makes extensive use of a horn section, in nearly every song. The jazz-house combination always sounds smooth and sophisticated, but here it also effectively plays against the theatricality of the songs. It sort of makes one think of the seedy underside of glitzy, vaudeville-era show business -- ostentatious artificiality onstage, lachrymose despair backstage, with the two often blending together, so that the despair is communicated using the flamboyant onstage style.

Sometimes all of these elements come together in the same song. "This Is My Love" is not as attention-grabbing as "You Belong" or "Blind," Andrew Butler's vocal is very low-key and modest. After the fey first verse, the disco rhythm kicks in and the song bounces along at a breezy pace. In the second chorus, a droning synth wafts in after each vocal line, creating a melancholy counterpoint. Then, there is a long instrumental outro where subtle rhythmic layers are added around the bassline. This gentle, unassuming song grows into arguably the most pleasant and musically satisfying moment on the album.

Really the only bum track in the whole lot is "True False/Fake Real." It's a competent enough instrumental; I think I'd like it more without the voice repeating the song title. But the bonus tracks "Classique #2" and "Roar" are better as instrumentals, with much tighter club rhythms, and really, the title isn't clever enough to warrant repetition.

However, that leaves eleven tracks of varying degrees of brilliance on the CD. Like other great electronic albums of the 2000s such as Luomo's Vocalcity and The Knife's Silent Shout, Hercules And Love Affair was made by people who knew a lot about classic techno and house, and were able to reinterpret and build on it. Highly recommended.

Prior to the release of `The Crying Light,' Antony Hegarty was involved in Hercules and Love Affair and I regretfully missed it on its initial release. Bathed in disco and dance music, this full-fledged production is led by Andrew Butler (keyboards, vocals) and features programming by the DFA's Tim Goldsworthy. The majority of the vocals are by Antony, Nomi and Kim Ann Foxman. Hercules and Love Affair are not disco apologists and embrace disco, as it had never gone to an early demise.

Those expecting the sounds of Chic, Seventies-Era Bee Gees and Donna Summer will be slightly disappointed because Hercules and Love Affair have updated the sounds of disco into something new by incorporating modern synths and effects as well as offbeat rhythms including some dub sounds. The majority of songs on this album belong on the dancefloor although two slow electronic songs creep in (Iris, Easy). Standout tracks include: "Blind," "You Belong" and the funky "Athene."

Obviously the rage of NYC's dance sector upon its release, this album puts to shame its flavor of the month indie/dance/electro peers. Andy Butler, who as I understand it is the mastermind behind the project, has put together a collection of tracks that out-class the increasingly unimaginative and erroneously titled "electro" dance fad- not just building on retro synths and beats but giving them an extra dose of reality via live horns and other instrumentation. The vocals, provided variously by three singers, give the album a refreshing free-for-all sort of feel. This isn't a record label construction, or a long-struggling band that has just come into their own, rather you get the feeling that these musicians came together in a very informal way over the simple common interest of making dance music. This also gives it an "of the people" aura which I think contributes to the vicariousness of the whole thing.

I'll admit that my favorite songs are the singles- "Hercules Theme", "Blind" and "You Belong" are all where I think the group hits their stride, rocking with stupendous momentum over flawless disco basslines and airtight brass garnishes. About half the album operates at a slower pace, and I find my attention sometimes wanders during songs like "Iris" which lack the vitality of the more anthem-y tunes. I also cannot get into Kim Ann Foxman's singing. She's certainly not a bad singer, but after Antony blazing through something like "Blind" and Nomi Ruiz' performance on "You Belong", as heartbreaking as it is sensual, Kim Ann's low key murmur doesn't quite have the same vitality.

There is a definite energy behind "Blind" especially, one of those rare songs that seems to have taken on a life of its own in the hands of its creators. These are ideal dance tunes, propulsive and catchy and free of self-consciousness or stylistic contrivances. The slow tunes also allow Butler to stretch out into some interesting sound design, even if the songs themselves don't hit as hard. "Easy" forgoes the disco thump for a more leftfield and ambient approach that makes for a satisfying trip hop outing, aided by Antony's reliably engaging croon. This is certainly a divisive album as some people find it either self-indulgent or simply unpleasant to listen to, but I imagine any motivated nightlifer or dance fiend will be thrilled.

I think this is the best dance record for 2008, and of course the year is young but I'll stick to those words.

Andy Butler has teamed up with Antony Hegarty to create a lovely dance record. The production is excelent, everything has a purpose and fits well. Even the touch of not using synth brass is a nice touch.

This record is proof disco is NOT dead. I highly recommend all of the remixes, especially the Frankie Knuckles remix of "Blind" - just mind blowing.

I just have to say that anything with Antony in it and/or produced by any of the DFA dudes (Murphy-Goldsworthy) has to be good. I have this album and it blew me away, I was expecting some techno-electronic stuff, but oh! the sweetness of the 70's beats, the horns, the vocals (Antony is surreal in Blind), everything just blends in and compliments each other in pure bliss. At times it has the feeling of being an album by The Knife (tracks 1, 6, 7 ), but then it brings in some fantastic disco infused electronica as well (2, 9) and of course the fantastic Blind... I really like the way Antony's voice enhances the beats... this is a true love affair.

Disclosure: I'm a big fan of Antony and the Johnsons, but I picked up the album not knowing that he was featured on it.

Review: I was hooked from the first track ("Time Will"), which is stellar. Antony's voice is excellently paired with the electronic backdrop, and the tracks without him stand well on their own as well. The album might have benefited from a bit more editing (e.g. the closing track "True False / Fake Real"), but in general it's engaging and well-composed.

Bottom-line: This album's was quickly bumped up to my "regular listen" list several weeks ago, and it's still there today. Two thumbs up.

As someone who's not too impressed with the dance music coming out nowadays, after hearing Hercules And Love Affair, I'm happy to say I was blown away. As a fan of Antony and the Johnsons and the DFA label, seeing these two work together, along with other fantastic new artists on this album, under the guidance of ringleader Andy Butler, a DJ making big waves on the dance scene here in NYC, together they take the groove of disco and add over 30 years of electronic and dance music progress to it, creating one of the most inventive albums in a long while. "Blind" is a total blast from the disco past, and hearing Antony sing over dance music rather than his slower paced solo work, is completely refreshing, and he makes it work beautifully. While also touching on dance music from all over the place including the 80s and much of the 70s, Hercules and the Love Affair is worth picking up and dancing to all summer long!

--DaVe Lipp

See more music reviews at www.shortandsweetnyc.com

I am always hesitant to give a five star review to a record. Specially so early in the year, with big names still to come up with new material. But after listening to this CD non-stop for months (I got the import) it would be completely unfair to pack Hercules and Love affair with the rest of the dance acts that fill the racks of any given music store.

Andrew Butler has admitted his admiration for the forgotten and obscure music from the 70's and 80's and that influence can be heard from the opening track to the last note. Although "Time will" may be seen as a rather weak and slow opener despite Antony's vocals, "Hercule's theme" reduces that notion to ashes with a beat that puts your right in the middle of a 70's dance floor, with a twist.
Soon to be second single "You belong" continues the string of catchy tunes but it isn't until we get to the two outstanding tracks "Athene" and "blind" (hands down the best single released so far this year)that we can witness the potential of HALF.
Tempo goes down once again to build up to a climax with "Raise me up" and "True Flase/Fake real".

The reason behind the name of the band itself and the twelve tracks is Butler's love for mythology and the meaning of each of those characters. If you listen carefully to the lyrics you will not find a direct allusion to the composer's private world but rather a universal approach to life and relationships, being the love/pain marriage a strong presence throughout most of it.

Do not expect this record to be an immediate love affair. It took me at least more than three listenings to surrender to the world that it transports you to. Nor should you compare it to any "modern" dance record, for Butler's whole intention was to recreate and expand the rich complex sounds of the underground scene relying more on what power of the voice and scattered technology can convey.

Hercules & Love Affair has every element I want in a good dance record - excellent songwriting, great singing (the best I've heard on any dance record in a long, long time), snappy programming, great sounding live instruments, killer analog electronic sounds - it's just all around a jam-up record.

Andy Butler - Hercules & Love Affair's main man - is obviously a student of dance music, with classic disco being the most obvious touchstone of this record, but without any grating strings or gratuitous nostalgia. Acid house and Detroit techno also feature prominently in the mix.

And of course - the vocals. What most people will be thrilled with are the tunes featuring Antony Hegarty, and for good reason. He swoons and swells most magically, and in all the right places.

For the reviewer above who complained about this record being repetitive - you realize this is dance music, right? It's not some aleatory navel-gazing album, nor is it some super-ambitious nuevo prog. It's certainly not repetitive compared to the large majority of dance records that have been released in the last 10 years.