In Amber (CD)
Hercules & Love Affair
Amoeba Review
Hercules & Love Affair are a long way from their early disco styling on their first album in five years, In Amber. Andy Butler injects the proceedings with gravity, sparseness, an almost pagan sense of the ceremonial. It’s a fitting response to Butler’s “inspiration” for the album…if you can call excess mortality and global crises something as seemingly upbeat as “inspiration.” But that’s where the magic of this album is. Through the trance-like, occasionally eerie melodies, through the heartrending lyrics, through the horrors Hercules & Love Affair, like the rest of us, must horrors look in the eye and decide to continue on, every day…through all of this, the band finds beauty in the bruises and weaves a sense of solidarity from sadness. And what a crew to call together for these dark times! Vocal duties alternate between Butler (at times sounding like he’s channeling Swans), Anohni, and Icelandic singer Elin Ey while Siouxsie & the Banshees’ Budgie contributes beats to the tracks. Experimental and essential.
Track Listing
Disc 1 Titles |
Artist |
Length |
---|---|---|
1.
Grace
|
Hercules & Love Affair | 03:56 |
2.
One
|
Hercules & Love Affair , ANOHNI | 04:38 |
3.
You've Won This War
|
Hercules & Love Affair | 05:45 |
4.
Christian Prayers
|
Hercules & Love Affair , ANOHNI | 05:47 |
5.
Dissociation
|
Hercules & Love Affair | 04:15 |
6.
Contempt for You
|
Hercules & Love Affair , ANOHNI | 05:06 |
7.
Gates of Separation
|
Hercules & Love Affair | 05:11 |
8.
Killing His Family
|
Hercules & Love Affair , ANOHNI | 03:51 |
9.
Who Will Save Us?
|
Hercules & Love Affair , ANOHNI | 04:07 |
10.
The Eyes of the Father
|
Hercules & Love Affair | 05:16 |
11.
Poisonous Storytelling
|
Hercules & Love Affair , ANOHNI | 05:20 |
12.
Repent
|
Hercules & Love Affair | 03:18 |