Hurts so good

A few weeks ago, I recommended, with the return of Spandau Ballet, that there should be more sax solos in pop music these days. Enter Hurts who hail from Manchester. The duo of Adam and Theo have been quite elusive over the last few months. In fact, back in April, after a brief mention over at Popjustice, I wrote their name down on a yellow sticky and added it to the pile of them that have slowly started to cover the surface of my desk like ivy overrunning a garden. Haven't heard a peep since then.

Now, after a second appearance on Popjustice, who rightly claimed that Hurts are the sort of band Mute might have signed if Mute in the 2000s were like Mute in the 1980s, I decided the time was right to dig a little deeper.

Apparently, Hurts has signed to a Sony distributed imprint run by Biff Stannard, he of Stannard and Rowe fame who wrote many hits for East 17, Five and Spice Girls. The first single, the yearning and moody "Wonderful Life" (not a cover of the 1987 hit by Black), is ready to be unleashed on the public, soon to be adored by many in every corner of the globe.



It's quite lovely. The tribal drums seem to be all the rage this season with everyone from Marina And The Diamonds, Ellie Goulding and even Natalie Imbrugila incorporating them into their current productions.

In a stroke of sonic brilliance, someone rang up legendary producer, Arthur Baker, and had him sprinkle his magic all over "Wonderful Life". In one fell swoop, he delivered a mighty, thunderous remix with flashes of electro brilliance.



A! MA! ZING! Reminds me of the productions he helmed for New Order in the mid-80s like "Shellshock" and "Confusion". Let's hope we don't have to wait another seven months before we hear something from these guys.