Hurts - Moscow

"Romance and perfect sex"

Technically this isn't a Hurts song. It's one of Daggers' old demos. But since a large chunk of Daggers are now Hurts, I'm relabeling it for clarification's sake. Hurts' impending success in Europe is a little bittersweet for me. I love them and am counting the days until their album's out, but I also loved Daggers. In fact, even though the band never released a proper album (besides the album-and-a-half worth of polished demo tracks and a single), I can genuinely say they're in my top ten bands of the decade. Hurts is more atmospheric and somber in nature than Daggers ever was, and it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. As far as Daggers' material, Moscow is the closing "bonus" track on my album playlist. It shares a lot of similarities with Hurts' sound when it comes to atmospherics, though its weird spacey beat places it in a category unto itself... sort of a transitional phase between Daggers and Hurts (which makes me wonder what year it was produced). It's also nearly six minutes long, though it hardly feels like it. Each phase of the song, from the extended, blippy intro to the dark verses, soaring chorus and catchy synth refrain, compliments what comes before and after perfectly. It's not the most instant or anthemic song in their catalog (there are too many others to choose from, really), but it's one that'll stick with you. I doubt whether there'll be something like this on the album, but I'm glad it exists at all!

Hurts - Moscow by alienhits

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Preorder the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Hurts - Better Than Love

"You let your body burn like never before"

I feel like I've got a special connection to Hurts. I've been following them for several years now, ever since they were Daggers. And I couldn't be happier that they've chosen this, an uptempo Daggers song, for their official debut single. I wrote a few months ago about how worried I was that the Hurts album would be filled with downtempo tracks. It's not that I don't like their slower stuff (I do!), but the uptempo, energetic pop found in their work with Daggers qualifies as some of the most epic music released in the past few years. As far as I'm concerned, they could just release an album of that and I'd be beyond happy. They've augmented this particular track a bit from its Daggers days, but thankfully they haven't screwed it up. In fact, the subtle changes actually make it more dramatic. I've always loved how the verses surge into that powerful chorus. Theo really is a dynamic vocalist. I hope radio programmers pick up on this, prompting a go-ahead for uptempo Hurts music. It may not be particularly "moody" or "cool," but it's heaps more fun. I wonder if they'll be allowed to put Money on the album? (My guess is "yes," since Sony BMG have removed all the clips of it from youtube)

Hurts - Better Than Love by alienhits

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Preorder the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

What Happens When Personal Favorite Becomes the Next Big Thing?

I love it when an artist that I've heralded on this blog becomes a big success. It's happened a few times before, and looks to happen again with Hurts, who have been tipped by many in the media as the next big thing for 2010. But it didn't happen without a few changes.

I wrote about Hurts extensively back when they were called Daggers. In fact, their single Money was my number one song of 2008 (though technically it was released in late 07). I lamented when the group broke up, and still believe that they've got some of the best unreleased tracks ever recorded. I like to string them together to form an album-that-never-was. If it had been released, it would easily challenge this year's crop for the number one position on my countdown.

But enough about Daggers. Even though I don't want to believe it, they're gone--as is their brand of brash, glossy electro. Now we've got Hurts, which in name and sound seems to be a reaction to Daggers. A comedown, a morning after. From what I've heard so far (four songs and a remix), the tone is muted and subtle, the tempo is slowed, and the overall sound is more wistful and stately.

Exhibit A: Daggers - Death It Feels
Daggers - Death It Feels by alienhits

Exhibit B: Hurts - Unspoken
Hurts - Unspoken by alienhits

Both are obviously fantastic, but based on my tastes alone, I can't help but wish that it was Daggers that were receiving all of this exciting press, but we've yet to see exactly what Hurts will do. After all, the principle songwriters are still there. The wonderful vocals are intact. The songs are good (though too often not great) and I think they have a hit in Wonderful Life (the best of their output thus far). I just hope they remember what made them hurt in the first place.

What about you guys? Which of the two songs above do you prefer? I think both represent the sound of their respective band pretty accurately.

Hear two other songs performed on bbc radio (fast forward an hour and three minutes into the broadcast)

Wonderful Life video

Their (frustratingly cryptic) Myspace