Hearts Hearts is a band from Wien, Austria. Their music include influences from intelligent dance music, electronics, indie, jazz and classical music but still manages to somehow stay away from all of those. The result is an odd album, loaded with broken rhythms, melancholic soundscapes and strange percussion. Above all of that weirdness, there's the distinct voice of David Österle, a bit similar perhaps to Sigur Ros.
The songs on this album are complex, energetic but calm pieces of music. There seems to be a constant opposites-attracts kind of feel, often evoked by drum & bass percussion on ambient soundscapes and those dreamy vocals. Songs like 'Bend Pyramid' or 'Potemkinsche Dörfer' for example are nice pop tunes, dressed in an experimental gown, somewhat danceable but nonetheless almost otherworldly.
My personal favorites include 'Blood Level', which is a pop-ballad from Venus or something, and the Autechre meets Boards Of Canada meets Tricky song 'Hunter Limits'. I might even dance to that if I ever get to chance to check out these guys live. Another song worth mentioning is the beautiful ballad 'Inner Market', probably the most radio friendly tune on this album. Yet, most of the tracks here are worth the effort of checking out.
So go ahead, explore this odd and interesting region of the music industry for a while. Hearts Hearts have come up with an excellent album, proving that songwriting and electronics can perfectly go hand in hand. Besides, they also prove that electronic music doesn't necessarily has to be cold in nature. There is some genuine warmth coming from this piece of work.
Serge