In these vexing times for the music industry, I guess it’s not a surprise to discover a highly talented act that’s getting shut out or ignored by the system. That doesn’t make it any less frustrating. Take Hercules & Love Affair, a project masterminded by Brooklyn DJ Andy Butler. Hercules’ fantastically catchy neo-disco has been painting the blogosphere red for months now, and it’s been on permanent repeat on my iTunes lately. On March 10, a full-length debut will go on sale everywhere in the world — except in the U.S., where Hercules has yet to secure a distribution deal. C’mon, American record-biz people, I’m begging you! This state of Affairs is pathetic!
Luckily, there’s plenty of awesome music from Hercules & Love Affair for you to explore online while I go sit in the corner and smack my head against the wall. For my money, the obvious standout is the lead single, "Blind," in which guest vocalist Antony Hegarty (of Antony & the Johnsons) is reborn as a dancefloor deity. It’s a real revelation: Antony’s rich, mournfulvoice always works wonders on sad ballads, but I for one had no idea it’d sound this perfect over a driving, brassy beat. Check it out for yourself by playing the song’s European video (below), a not-quite-NSFW orgiastic dream sequence straight out of a Fellini film or Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. And if you love "Blind" as much as I do, go ahead and use the comments section to pledge you’ll buy Hercules & Love Affair’s album when (or if) it’s finally available at non-import prices!
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Good song…I’ll check it out on iTunes. As for the video, not to go all Puritan and all, but does the young innocent heroine always have to succumb in these scenarios? It’d be refreshing to see her hightail it out of there, take a deep breath and have a nice beverage or something.
I saw a very good review of it at http://newfileengine.com/ – use the search and follow the link…