Latest album from Cambridge band.
The fourth album from Cambridge troupe The Broken Family Band sees them expanding musically from their more country branch into more indie-rock territory. Using 'Hello Love' as evidence its clear the band have made their transition successfully.
Vocalist Steve Adams has a distinctive voice in the same bracket as The Decemberists' Colin Meloy. Opener 'Leaps' is an invigorating jaunt and the perfect opener to hook the listener, with its sing along chorus and sweeping melody. 'Love Your Man, Love Your Woman' is more blues tinged with its insistent percussion and more snarled vocals. Although not one of my particular favourites on the record it's easy to imagine the song proving rousing in a live setting. 'So Many Lovers' is a contrast to its predecessor, with emotive lyrics about making mistakes in a relationship. The soft approach of the song shows the bands maturity and is most suited to Adams' voice. In just three songs the band have already achieved the kind of variety many more substandard bands would fail to manage throughout an entire album.
'Julian' is another more summer toned song like 'leaps', perfect for listening to indoors while we continue to wait for the summer to actually arrive. 'Don't Change Your Mind' is perhaps the album's weakest moment so far, purely because it sounds interchangeable with several of the songs that preceded it, but is by no means bad when considered individually. By contrast 'Dancing on the 4th Floor'is the best song so far,and does exactly what you'd expect from a song with dancing in the title.It is upbeat and addictive and contains the rather loveably tongue in cheek lyrics "nearly all the songs are lies except this one" and "I hate these songs they're just love reduced to couplets as if the verses sum up love like love needs a chorus to make it real".
Although the album weakens a little towards the end and final track 'Seven Sisters' is far too long, 'Hello Love' is an excellent album regardless and one I can imagine returning to with regularity this summer