Hurts is one of Britain's hottest new bands, featuring Theo Hutchcraft (vocals) and Adam Anderson (keyboards). The band is part of the recent synthpop revival that has marked a return to the original 1980s synthesizer-dominated sound of Duran Duran, Human League and OMD. The movement is a return while marching forward, however, with updated technology and modern dance beats.
Hurts has released three singles-- "Better Than Love," "Wonderful Life" and "Stay"-- and an album-- "Happiness"-- that have all charted well across Europe. "Happiness" peaked at #2 in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, at #3 in Finland, and at #4 in Sweden and England.The band has yet to crash American shores, and although "Happiness" is available here through downloads, there has yet to be an American release of the album on CD or vinyl. I ordered the CD myself through a British supplier.
"Happiness" is not get-happy music. Indeed, it's quite the opposite and masterfully demonstrates that happiness hurts at times. The album appeals to me because it weaves an essential message from beginning to end: Life hits us with all it has, and we have to grieve our losses well if we are to have hope for "happiness" ahead. There's great emotional intensity to this music, and Hutchcraft's vocals always manage to hit the heart with sincerity and intensity. Aside from "Wonderful Life,"my favorite song is "Blood, Tears and Gold." It has the right combination of tenderness and hardness and strikes a perfect balance between the two as it emotionally lifts me up and then brings me back down to earth with great passion. Maybe passionate is the best way to describe the music of Hurts. There's a starkness here, but not a coldness, as is often associated with synthpop.
I'm a member of Rate Your Music, and have a list of Essential Albums of 2010. "Happiness" sits on top of that list at Number One. To date, there are 180 albums listed on the chart, and they're listed because they are essential listening in my book. There have been many great new releases this year by great new artists, like Bag Raiders, Kids of 88, Fenech-Soler, Gayngs and Tesla Boy, but I still believe the most essential album of the year is "Happiness" by Hurts. Give it a spin.
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