Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Hercules and Love Affair - Blind

As is so often the case these days - maybe it's my age - whenever you hear something fantastic is seems to reference something beloved from the past. This is very much the case with the first great dance single of 2008 - Blind by Hercules and Love Affair.

Hercules and Love Affair is comprised musically of New York DJ Andy Butler - red-haired and cubbish - with sidekicks Kim Ann and Nomi. Vocals on Blind and several other tracks on their forthcoming debut album are - unexpectedly - by Antony Hegarty - the ethereally-voiced, gender-confused singer from former Mercury Music Prize-winners Antony and the Johnsons.

The result is a rather retro disco single with a gloriously spooky vocal soaring above it - something like discovering a previously-unheard demo by Patrick Cowley and Sylvester from the early 80s, something soulful, extraordinary and oddly pioneering; something fresh and new and yet strangely comforting.

Blind is released in the UK 3 March 2008, with a self-titled album to follow on 10 March. The somewhat subdued video for Blind - all toned-down, arty 80s excess hinting at alternative queer cinema - can be seen below.



Hercules and Love Affair MySpace
Hercules and Love Affair - Official Website

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