Headphones On

We are on a journey, chronicling the life of a movie star heroine. She speeds through the Belgian countryside in a '65 E type, totally enveloped in the wall of sound she's driving towards. Our starlet slouches in the driver's seat, her silk dress scrunching into unflattering shapes on her hips. She eases her foot off of the gas pedal. The car slows to a standstill on the dark road. Ahead of us we see, The Magnificent Tree. What brought us here is unknown, but this is quite obviously the end of the line.

"Feel the vibe, feel the terror, feel the pain - it's driving me insane - I can't fake - for god's sake why am I driving in the wrong lane - trouble is my middle name - but in the end I'm not too bad" - Mad About You

Back with their 3rd album, Hoover (as they're known overseas) has completed a grandiose cinemaworthy un-soundtrack. The movie plots may exist purely in their heads, but the accompanying feeling has been captured in sound. The timpani, keyboards, strings and theremin intermingle so well that the listener's ear is teased with musical emotion. Never has the trip hop sound managed to sound so full without coming off as over-produced. Hoover managed to pull off a children's chorus during "Jacky Cane" without sounding the least bit pretentious. While the strings and percussion are drawing the listener towards a path of tender emotion, the keyboards kick up enough sinister tones to provide a swell of imagery. Layering each song with the high hat and drum machine backings is practically hypnotic. Hoover might not be doing anything new but they are doing it so well, this feels like a new experience.

The mid-90's girl groups are still out there, yet most seem to be splintering off into their own directions. Massive Attack and Tricky remain the critic's choice with every cd they release. Dubstar have finally created a cd equal to their debut leading them away from Trip Hop and more towards the rock/dance elements. St Etienne have been following their own sound and experimenting with other musicians for over 10 years now to retain their cult following. Portishead are still wallowing in their ever-depressing world. Everything But The Girl have followed their mainstream success of Missing with their latest album Temperamental. There were very few whom hadn't regained the spotlight at some point in the past few years. Hooverphonic did begin working with a new singer and put out a cd in the meantime "Blue Powder Wonder Milk" but the latest disc might be the necessary catalyst to push them over the musical hump to becoming mainstay artists

I used to listen to Hooverphonic as background noise. I wasn't paying them the highest of compliments, but I never felt that their music requested my full attention. With the birth of this new album, Hoover are taking baby steps towards center stage. Unwilling to hide in the orchestra pit anymore, Hoover have developed the sound necessary to capture my attention and my imagination.

Originally published at Excellent Online