Quirky, Retro and Expressive
English musician and producer Andrew Hung released his new album, Deliverance, on August 11. Originally a co-founder of the electronic music duo Fuck Buttons, Hung began working on solo projects in 2015, with the release of his debut EP Rave Cave. Since then, Hung has explored a multitude of genres, including techno, synth-pop and indie rock. Deliverance puts Hung’s multi-genre skills on display, with an ‘80s-inspired twist.
The opening track, “Ocean Mouth,” begins with cinematic, pulsating synth chords. Hard-hitting drums make an entrance that establish the driving tempo of this track. While the vibe is initially a bit low-key and gentle, Hung’s expressive vocals set up the ‘80s synth-pop feel that is heard throughout the rest of this album. His soulful and theatrical voice combined with the instrumental layering makes for a very eccentric and bold intro track.
The next track, “Find Out,” takes a much different techno-inspired approach. Thin drumbeats and Hung’s raspy, deep and slightly off-pitch vocals match the quirky and almost-humorous vibe of this track. There are also some interesting sounds and instruments heard throughout this tune that make it stand out from the rest, like metallic synth blips and high-pitched, sped-up plinks.
“Too Much” is one of the more simple yet catchy tracks on this album, with reverb-heavy electric guitars, booming drums and a repetitive synth bass line. Some weirdly cool underwater-like vocal cries stand out while Hung sings, “Oh love carry me home beat for luck / Oh love, bury the moonbeam for dawn.”
Although there are some great instrumentals and distinctive sounds heard throughout Deliverance, one of the downsides to this album is that the grooves and forms of each track start to feel repetitive and predictable after a while. Around half of the tunes on Deliverance begin with a repetitious drum beat and nearly every track on this album has an extremely similar build up, each instrument layering one by one with the eventual entrance of Hung’s voice. It would’ve been more intriguing to perhaps hear some more rhythmic variation or tempo changes. As a whole, there weren’t many elements of surprise.
Despite this, Deliverance is an overall well-done album. The highlights of this album are undoubtedly the peculiar and quirky instrumentals, along with Hung’s expressive and theatrical voice. With a bit more rhythmic experimentation, Hung is clearly on the path to make some excellent music in the future.
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