Beautifully shot. Decent budget. Suitably lush. Slightly bleak yet glamorous locale. Veiled models in slinky dresses. Pouty band members. It all has a bit of a Roxy Music vibe to it.
Clearly, the new mix of the single pushes all the right buttons and make "Wonderful Life" even more epic than it already was. It was nearly perfect in its original form. Amazing what some tribal drums and a few synth parts can do to a song.
And, if I'm not mistaken, Hurts are the 2010 equivalent of Johnny Hates Jazz. That is not a bad thing, kittens.
"Wonderful Life" will be available from all fine "shops" on August 23. However, the big fail here is the availability of the mixes by Arthur Baker, Freemasons and Mantronix. You'll only be able to get your Google dirty fingers on them as a digital download bundle.Considering the target audience Theo and Adam are aiming for, a CD single with the mixes on it would have made the most sense.
Well... I'm certainly warming up to these two. I completely understand the Johnny Hates Jazz comparison, but I think they've got more than a leg up on that band. I am liking Hurts more the more I hear them and can anticipate purchase in the not too distant future.
ReplyDeleteThe video is pretty wonderful. I wasn't sure about the choreography, but when they jumped in the pool, they had me hook, line and sinker. The cinematography and setting is just gorgeous. And Hurts endear themselves to me by being the kind of band that dares to bring back buttoned collars with no ties! So three cheers for attempting to purvey a sophisticated adult vibe. So VH1/1987. I just hope there's a market for that now.
I am so out of touch with "the market" that when my wife brought home the Rolling Stone Best Music of the Naughts issue, I not only had never heard any of the music contained within, but the vast majority of the groups were blanks on my now dormant radar.
…But I can tell you exactly what Howard Devoto did for the last decade.
@REVO - Well, the JHJ was more for the buttoned shirts sans ties than anything else. But you mentioned VH1 circa 1987, so you get where I'm coming from. Where cool like that!
ReplyDeleteIs there really a market for anything these days? It's such a slippery slope trying to predict what's going to stick. There's always room on my shelf (and in my iTunes playlist) for sophisticated pop.
C'mon- the new video is terrible. The new mix is great but they should've re-edited the old video:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kuwdw7KmGwA
Who is in charge here? Sony needs to clean house and get some people in there that know what they're doing. Vin, get on that and try to sleaze your way in there!
THAT'S IT! JHJ!!! I knew there was a good comparison band from the mid 80's. I agree, HURTS has way more in the style bank that JHJ and are less subtle than Hue and Cry... I just hope someone starts playing them on the radio, any radio... I am afraid they might just get ignored in the post GaGa world we now find ourselves in.
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