Boo Hooray - Haunted

Truffling around in the commercially under-appreciated end of the independent music market as I often do, I’ve come across a few too many hard luck stories: talented musicians whose time never came, or it did come, but only when they were still running from the tube station. Tom Boyle and Anth Brown are two names to add to that hard luck list - you might know them as the brains behind Electric Music AKA, but more likely, you won’t. Their debut album, ‘North London Spiritualist Church’ was released in 2000 to good reviews. But then their label (Grand Royal) went broke, they were sued over the use of their name (Electric Music being the side project of a member of Kraftwerk), they were turfed out of the studio and taken to court over stolen electricity. Consequently, it has taken them 10 years and a new name to get here. But ‘Haunted’, their third album, will be a just reward for their patience. With ten tracks passing by in 35 minutes, it is a slighter album than it actually feels like - Boo Hooray have found a way to create a sense of grandeur out of gentle, soulful pop music. There are many moments to savour; a lonely guitar is suddenly swamped in delicious strings on ‘The Last Day of Something’, a repeated snyth motive holds back an effortless melody on ‘All In Distress’, the slightest hint of 60s psychedelica on ‘Gramaphone Needle’ and the occasional flicker of electricity on ‘Haunted By You’, suggesting they haven’t entirely abandoned the concept behind their old band name. Every track comes at a slow pace, with the overall effect of the album constantly hazy and unassuming. But, modestly presented as this is, the easy way with a tune and attention to detail bears comparison with the works of those other unassuming makers of fuzzy pop, Paddy McAloon and Andy Partridge.

Track Listing:-

1 The Angels Are Closer
2 Everything Is Light And Dust And Alright
3 Cursed Moon
4 Haunted By You
5 Johnny Won't Get To Heaven
6 The Last Day Of Something
7 Gramophone Needle
8 Joe
9 All In Distress
10 Wonderlust