songs of faith and devotion

With a velvety glass of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo as accompaniment, I am weaving words about a beautiful rarity in the world of music. *sip*

Finally, the long awaited and much anticipated debut longplayer from Hurts has crash landed. "Happiness" stands out among the current crop of 2010 hopefuls for being the most melodic and sophisticated effort of the bunch. There's more meat on these bones.

The entire album, which debuted in the UK at #4 this week, is seamlessly held together by solid songwriting, epic and tasteful arrangements, lyric depth and Theo Hurts' (né Hutchcraft) solid vocal. Theo's performances are stridently confident yet they maintain a slight vulnerability which gives a more personal feel to the vocal delivery and sells the lyrical sentiments without ever coming off sounding cheap or cheesy.

Although it incorporates many sounds associated with the 80s, the album manages to be far more than a pastiche of synth tricks and production padding.

"Silver Lining" clearly takes its cues from Depeche Mode, a group which Adam Hurts (né Anderson) has cited as a major influence. Starting with classic throbbing synths and clanky chimes, reminiscent of "Black Celebration" era DM, the song builds into a epic chorus. Toward the end of the song, "silver" is chanted by a chorus of manly men against a backdrop of elegiac chords and faux mandolins until the entire arrangement creeps away into a chugging drum loop and ominous chord passages which reminds me of DM's "Stripped".

On a lighter note, second single, "Wonderful Life", which only managed to scrape to #21 in the UK singles chart, is a towering tune which still comes across like a slightly moody Johnny Hates Jazz. And that's not a bad thing at all. This song has a sonic sheen to it that the original mix didn't have. An absolute classic. Just give it some time.

However, to these ears, there is a funky edit around the 3.13 mark. Not sure if it's an artifact of the reverb or a mistake. Whatever the case, it is not in the original version that appeared toward the back end of 2009.

Lyrically, it's appears to be a song of hope to those in despair. The sound of it is equal party glorious beauty and mournful anxiety. Perfect pop! To further hit that point home, here's Hurts performing live in a basement somewhere in London.

The drummer is a monster! Nicely done, rhythm master. After watching that clip, it occurred to me for the first time that there's even a bit of Mk II era Ultravox floating around in Hurts' electro elegance.

Theo and Andy channel a number of fine purveyors of electronic pop throughout the course of the 12 tracks that make up "Happiness". Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark is a on "Blood, Tears And Gold", complete with angelic vocal samples and delicate synth lines while Pet Shop Boys are the clear influence on "Sunday". However, if you close your eyes, you could be forgiven by thinking you were listening to Killers.

Word just came down that "Stay" will be the third single to be plucked from "Happiness". What starts out a bit like Breathe - don't pretend you don't have "All That Jazz" somewhere in your CD collection - quickly turns into another gospel tinged epic with Depeche Mode-esque rhythmic, heartbeat leanings. It sounds massive with its booming, ominous, left hand piano and Theo's elegiac vocal. Very singleworthy, indeed.

The eerie intro to "Illuminated" hints at more DM sonic references and you begin to realize Hurts is more Basildon boys than that of the Pet Shop variety. Everything leading up to this point, including the "Actually" referencing cover art seemed to indicate a PSB connection. Oh, how wrong we were. And that's completely OK as Hurts deliver one of the most polished and emotive debut albums in quite some time.

"Evelyn" is a beautifully somber song which dates back to Theo's days in UK pop combo, Daggers, from the previous decade. It builds from a reflective ode with goth undertones into a full on widescreen number with tribal drums, cathedral vocals and primal yelps which, surprisingly, don't overpower Theo's earnest performance.

This leads nicely into debut single, "Better Than Love", an throbbing electronic dance track that sounds like The Mission meets Pet Shop Boys. The tag line following the chorus gives the listener another flash of OMD.

While I'm referencing several bands, at no time does Hurts come across as if they are aping someone else's sound from yesteryear. They pay homage to their influences in a clever way. Smatterings and subtle sonic construction as opposed to being a pastiche.

Theo looking very much like Gary Kemp from Spandau Ballet at the start of that video.

The remainder of "Happiness" is more subdued - achingly beautiful with wonderfully longing vocals and choruses as big as houses. First up is "Devotion" which features vocal contributions from everyone's favorite Aussie pop rocket, Kylie Minogue. It places her more firmly in the territory she first laid claim to with her Nick Cave duet, "Where The Wild Roses Grow", as opposed the frothy dance confections with which she's currently associated. Smart move. She sounds simultaneously fragile and sexy. In fact, it even has shades of "Confide In Me" which Hurts recently covered.



"Unspoken" is another gorgeous, cinematic number which falls and climbs throughout. "The Water" drifts into George Michael territory. Swimming in reverb and very little electronics, it shows off another slice of Hurts' epic manifesto. It's one of many high water marks on an accomplished debut.

But wait... There's more. "Verona" is a "hidden" track which wouldn't feel out of place on a Marc Almond album. This short, anthemic song builds from a bare arrangement into a powerhouse of martial drums, mandolins and an operatic chorus of voices. A bit OTT, but its brevity holds it back from being ridiculous. Very lovely.

Interesting to note that the title track was given away through Amazon and really showcases the . It's a booming stomper with a killer chorus which rises and falls before launching into a goosestepping tag with a stern, staccato chant of "We don't need your cheap salvation. We don't need your sympathy." Powerful stuff. Make it your mission to seek it out.

All in all, "Happiness" is quite an achievement. A debut of skyscraper proportions with a beautifully executed - and painfully long - marketing campaign. What started out as enigmatic and curious has evolved into a stylish and solidly strong clutch of songs which should find a good home in many homes. One of the best elpees of 2010.