For a time back at the end of 2013, I found myself listening to nothing but Black Hearted Brother and their debut album, “Stars are our home”.
The album was released in October of that year and took me completely by surprise. At the time, I had pretty much given up on any new material from Mojave 3, and well, forget about Slowdive, and Halstead’s solo work, while excellent, had never been mind-blowing. I hadn’t heard any peep or rumour about any possible new Neil Halstead projects. The only reason I listened to this album at all was that the name, Black Hearted Brother, jumped out at me from the album release pages as one that I fancied. So, yes, the album was a surprise but it was even more so when I first put it on. Indeed, that voice was instantly familiar to me and a quick Google search had me smiling at the discovery.
The term supergroup was bandied about in the press immediately after the release of “Stars are our home” but the album was far from a planned project, really more of a happy accident that came together between friends. Neil Halstead, Nick Holton, and Mark Van Hoen, all had a wealth of prior recording experience between them. They knew what worked and what didn’t. But if you’re a fan of their previous work, don’t go into this album expecting a rehash of any of their respective bands’ classic albums. Rather, it’s a synthesis of what these guys are and do and what they haven’t done before and as a group, seemed to have made a conscious decision with this project to just let go of everything and not let themselves be restricted by their own musical history. In that sense, “Stars are our home” is an experimental album and for me, it’s an experiment that worked wondrously.
When I listen to it still, I picture these guys just having a blast in the studio, just playing with different sounds and not thinking too much about whether any of the songs will make a good single or not. Indeed, you can tell that this is an album that the musicians wanted to make for themselves and nobody else. It feels like a shake up (shake down) to the dream pop scene of the 21st century, their record label, the mighty Slumberland Records, calling it “space-rock/shoegaze/post-everything”. It’s the veterans showing the young pups how it’s done. It’s noisy, electronic, gentle, beautiful, ugly, and delicious. “Stars are our home” rocks*.
There’s certainly plenty to like on “Stars are our home” but “This is how it feels” became an early favourite around these parts and remains so to this day. Never since Spiritualized’s “Ladies and gentlemen, we are floating in space” has a song practically forced me to picture myself orbiting the earth from outer space, encapsulating the feeling of weightlessness and solitude. By times gentle and by times brash, it dances daringly between genres, flitting between folk and synth, splashing bright colours and loud washes over the already blurred lines of psychedelia. It lulls you, lullaby-like, into a false sense of security with its gentle drum rhythm and barely there guitar strums and then, shakes you wide awake at each freakout chorus.
*Unfortunately, “Stars are our home” would turn out to be the one and only release by the project. I’m not even sure they ever did any shows to promote it, though I’m sure these shows would’ve been amazing. Slowdive announced their reunion not long into 2014, taking up the lion’s share of Neil Halstead’s over the last decade or so.
For the rest of the Best tunes of 2013 list, click here.
Looking back at my list so far, there’s a few bands making their first appearance on any of my end of year, best albums lists and a few of these still that are brand new to me, just hearing about them and listening to them for the first time this year. Gift is an example of this latter group.
Camera Obscura “Look to the east, look to the west”: The Scottish indie pop band’s sixth studio album and first since the death of keyboardist, Carey Lander in 2015, shows the group in fine form and chock full of that twee magic.
The Decemberists “As it ever was, so it will be again”: The Portland-based quintet keeps on doing things in their own particular way – esoteric subject matter dressed up in indie folk, informed by a myriad of world musical styles – on their 9th studio album and we continue to love them for it.
Desperate Journalist “No hero”: To my ears, these post punk revivalists from London, England have firmly grasped the torch let drop by Canada’s The Organ when that band split after only one great album back in the early 2000s.
Elephant Stone “Back into the dream”: The sixth album by the Montreal-based psych-rock quartet fronted by bass and sitar player Rishi Dhir, is more Beatlesque, jangle pop that is as equally relevant on a Saturday night, as it is on a Sunday morning.
James “Yummy”: One of my favourite all-time bands celebrated their 40th anniversary year in 2023 with a compilation of orchestral reworkings of many of their much-loved classics and followed it up in 2024 with their 18th (!) studio album – future classics that feature the Manchester group’s signature “big”
Linn Koch-Emmery “Borderline iconic”: Unlike her 2021 debut, “
The Vaccines “Pick-up full of pink carnations”: London, England’s The Vaccines are sadly one of those bands that I tend to forget about* – until of course, they release a new album, like this, their 6th LP offering, and I am immediately caught back up in the wave of their angular, fun, and anthemic indie-pop.
My (life in) music lists 