Customer Reviews

LOVE AND DISTANCE [Vinyl]

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

 

 

If you're familiar with the Helio Sequence, Love and Distance will likely come as a shock on first listen. The dense, swirling, electronic ambience that characterized the band's first two albums is all but gone - here, the keyboards favor melody more than mood, and the vocals find a much more prominent place in the mix. And at first, I didn't quite know what to think about that. The album initially seemed to pale in comparison to its predecessors. But I gave it a chance, and by the 6th or 7th song, I was quite enjoying it. At that point, I decided that the band must have hidden the good stuff at the back of the album... but upon returning to the beginning, I found that I enjoyed it just as much. The album just needs a couple of listens to sink in.

In short, Love and Distance is a big change in direction for the Helio Sequence, but that's not a bad thing. It stands tall as a fantastic album of upbeat indie-pop.

I first heard the helio sequence because my drum teacher told me that one of his old students played drums for the duo. I own both of their earlier albums and enjoy them mostly for the drum work. I wasn't sure what to expect from "love and distance," so, i bought it and found that i truly loved every aspect of it. It differs from their early more computer based style. they throw in some harmonica and the guitar work is amazing!

Helio Sequence's third album is more focused, more poppy, and less crazy than their first two. The first track is one of the strongest, with a tough (trust me) harmonica riff and some good guitar. Other highlights include "Don't Look Away," "Blood Bleeds," "S.O.S." and "Looks Good." Though the album is tighter than before, there are still a number of throwaway tracks; some of the songs end up sounding like rehashings of earlier songs. What really holds the album together are creative guitar work and the strong, talented drumming. The lyrics are not as good as on earlier releases--they're coming to rely too heavily on flashy but empty, repetetive, plays on words ("brings me to you and it brings you to me") and have missed the rebellious spark that invigorated their earlier lyrics. The album is a worthwhile purchase, however. The songs are catchy for the most part, and have enough rocking moments to make it exciting to listen to for a handful of times, but you might have trouble staying truly interested after a while. Recommended for fans of the Beatles AND indie music, as well as most indie pop fans.

I saw the helio sequence live and they just shocked me. So much energy, it was an amazing performance. I picked up their first CD "Com Plex" and just fell in love...though not as much energy it was still good. I then got "Young Effectuals" and also fell in love. When I heard a new cd was coming out I got incredibly excited and counted down the days. I finally got about a week or two after it came out and I was shocked. It was not as drowned in loops and samples and there were not so many effects on the vocals as I was used to. At first I was slightly dissapointed by this album but then I gave it another listen and smacked the stupid out of me. I realized that though it's not like their earlier stuff, It's still great. 5 out of 5.

This is a really great indie / electronic pop album. I love harmonica song, and the rest of the album is really easy to listen to, yet somewhat more forgettable. I love playing this music in the background while I work or have friends over.

I've heard much about the helio sequence but the album at no point lived up to its billing. Call the music what you want - electronica, lo-fi, alt-pop - the point is the music is so monotone that the music and the listener embark on a journey of procrastination. It would have helped if they had tried to mix it up a little - sadly they don't.

I dread to think what any of their other albums sound like.

This was the last album I bought from the Helio Sequence and it is their third of four studio album releases. I bought this one after all of the others because the critics gave it a low rating. The album has some of the band's trademark synth/guitar "tossed salads" mix-downs that shows up on all of their other albums. However, the "salad" is not as thick on this album. Almost all of the songs are an even mid-tempo production whereas their other albums tend to mix-up the tempo with some quieter and slower material or alternate production techniques (i.e. "Keep Your Eyes Ahead" has the lush pop tune, "Can't Say No" and the accoustic song, "Shed Your Love.")
As usual for this pop duo, they seem to reach in different directions for influences on their different albums. This album is no exception to this rule. They seem to have a liking for 90's pop/rock influences such as Beck or even the Spin Doctors.

If you enjoy this band at all, the worst thing this album can be used for is background music for when have other things to do. However, I think that this album has much undiscovered potential overlooked by other critics and I will keep it in my rotation and recommend it strongly to those who have grown attached to the Helio Sequence in their still short and hopefully long career.

This is an extremely enjoyable album. I found the band on Pandora from a playlist that started with TV on the Radio, but they are poppier and more electronic. There are also some influences from Modest Mouse and Beta Band. If you like those groups, this is group is fun and more accessible--I loved it on the first listen.

I can't get these 10 tracks out of my head. I really love this cd and have given it to all of my friends. Everyone agrees...great melodies and lyrics. Nice tunes to listen to for almost any setting...driving, napping, sex, working, house cleaning, dinner party. I have tried it with everything and love it. Can't wait to see them in October.