Hercules and Love Affair
Blue Songs
(Moshi Moshi)

Electro and dance fans will find much to offer from Hercules and Love Affair’s sophomore record, while people who are more interested in the sound rather than the beat might find Blue Songs a bit wanting.

Most of the tracks on Blue Songs are sprawling and repetitive. When it comes to dance music, that’s a desirable quality because it lets the audience focus on the beat and sense the rhythm rather than focus on something distracting like the meaning of the lyrics. It’s easy to lose yourself as the minutes slip by and the layers of each song come together so organically that they seem to slip by easily.

The title track is a definite highlight because it’s not just a track to dance to. Instead, it’s a little electro, a little weird, but filled with beautiful woodwind instrumentation. Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke also appears to make “Step Up” memorable with vocals that are at once urgent and smooth. His own turn at electronic music doubtlessly made his contribution more intuitive.

Hercules and Love Affair’s second record isn’t as immediately satisfying as their first, and there will be some disappointed fans out there. However, for a contribution to a specific niche, it does the job and makes it sound good.