Hooray for Earth True Loves

This is bouncy, isn't it? It's a noisy vortex of synthesizers, guitars, drums from the get go. But it's all a bit shallow in the repetitive guitar noise and synth-laden nonsense that's been so damned popular — perhaps not without cause, but it's not a good start for this band with a name that's already threatening irrelevance. Sure, True Loves is good on occasion, don't get me wrong. It's not entirely a systemic problem Hooray For Earth are encountering.

It's wholly problematic that at times Hooray for Earth sounds as uninspired as a washed out band on a reunion tour. They get by only on the weight of youthful resilience and a genuine interest in what they're doing — but that doesn't come across musically. There are some nice elements here: the vocals and vocal harmonies are reasonably solid, but they're trapped underneath layers of, well, noise. Don't mistake my point, though; Hooray For Earth have some ideas that are genuinely interesting, and True Loves isn't an album that should provoke much spite.

But what they've done with the interesting bits is maddening. You hear a nice synth tone, and it's inevitably layered over with something else soon enough. A good vocal line? The same thing happens. The melody starts to really take off? Then things are going to go really astray, and the melody will be just a distant memory of better times. Throw in some samples between tracks that only distract from the music, and True Loves ends up being an entirely forgettable listen.