Hooverphonic CD Version ?- In Wonderland - (All versions described) The new album of Hooverphonic exists because of the form different vocalists from five double portions. On numbers 1 and 2, you hear the same voices, in numbers 3 and 4, you will hear a different voice on numbers 5 and 6, yet another etc. Each pair numbers consist of a single and an album track. A little to the principle of the old 45 tour singles on vinyl. Thus the idea for this beautiful box with five vinyl singles, each created an A and a B-side. Hooverphonic scores with 'Badaboum "already a smash! The charts in Belgium do not lie with a No. 1 ranking in the national airplay chart and No. 2 in ultratop. The video for this single view you above. The single is the forerunner of the album 'In Wonderland' which opens on 18 March 2016. On 'In Wonderland' you hear multiple voices, both male and female, with different timbres that give a unique character to each number. An eclectic plate so, with the theme melancholic strings specific to Hooverphonic. "After years of having worked with one specific vote per album, we were really excited to work with different people. In the past we often attributed super cool numbers starting from a male voice. In most cases, they could be perfectly reworked in a female version, but this did not always work. So often gems remained unused. For us it is an obvious choice to use not only women's voices on this album. During our years in the box we got a lot of talented musicians and vocalists from and so grew the idea for the new record, "said Alex Callier and Raymond Geerts.
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Product Dimensions
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5.51 x 4.92 x 0.35 inches; 1.76 ounces
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Look, it's a departure from what they used to be. And this one is not as bad as when they had Noemie. Not that Noemie was bad, there were a couple of classics in there, but we all skipped through most of them, unlike with Geike. But who can replace Geike? I don't think the boys need to. There was a time for that, and the guys just want to move forward and evolve, and I can dig that. And this new one is good. I like it. Badaboum is an instant classic, we all know. And the rest are all very smooth and easy to listen to. With Noemie, a lot the stuff were dark, the lyrics were dark, and that was perhaps what didn't click.
Long time Hooverphonic fan. This is one of their best albums and just a great album regardless of band. I love what they did here with the guest vocals and the A & B side Singles concept. Yes, its a bit of a departure from their other stuff but all of their albums have had new ideas in them while still having Hooverphonic's style and this is no different. Weakest song is unfortunately the title and first track as the singer's voice will probably turn a lot of people away. I suggest starting with the second song, I Like The Way I Dance, with the same singer using a more normal voice. Badaboum and Cocaine Kids are real standouts as well as the aforementioned ILTWID.
I've been listening to Hooverphonic regularly since the year 2000 when I first heard "Renaissance Affair" play in the Volkswagen New Beetle commercial in the United States. While I like everything they have done, the first six albums tend to get more play for me. While I loved Noémie Wolfs, who debuted in their seventh album, there was a drastic change from the more trip hop/electronica/dream pop to radio-play-centered pop. I saw an interview in which Alex Callier clarified that it wasn't "fast food pop", which I completely agree with. I enjoyed these albums, however at the time of their release I was spending more time listening to synth pop bands such as The Knife, Royksopp, Caribou, iamamiwhoami, who coincidentally I discovered after searching for music that was like Hooverphonic's earlier work.
With Noémi moving on focus on her solo career, I was hoping that the band wouldn't take long to find a new lead vocalist. I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that the band was working on their new album which would feature multiple guest vocalists, including men.
From their website:
"Alex enthuses: “Until now, we always made an album for a Cinderella. We were always trying to find the right slipper for the right princess – the right song for the right voice. So we decided to turn the rational around and to look at a wide variety of slippers”. Thence the male and female voices on the album. Alex continues: “Sometimes you write songs that aren’t right for a woman, so this time we thought: why not use a man?”
"Hooverphonic has always been an album band," says Alex. "Our albums were made as the soundtracks for non-existent movies. Each one had its very own atmosphere, sometimes dark and psychedelic, sometimes glamorous and playful. Some had a sixties Audrey Hepburn film vibe, whilst others were reminiscent of James Bond flicks. In Wonderland is completely different.”
“We’re sixties fanatics. Back then, singles were more popular than albums. Then came The Beatles’ 1966 Revolver, which drastically changed the game and became the first concept album, not just a collection of singles. In the era of Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music, we’ve gone back to square one and once again, singles are more important than albums. In Wonderland was conceived as a collection of five singles, with as many universes and flavours, with an A side and a flip B side.”
“In the sixties, A-sides were more marketable whereas B-sides were more abstract, more audacious. In terms of popularity, the B-side sometimes even surpassed the A-Side. That’s the concept we played with on In Wonderland because sometimes, you don’t go to the airwaves with the A-Side.”
The first taste we got of this album was a disastrous teaser released on their YouTube page back in October in which "Cocaine Kids" was teased along with a surreal music video in which had things like a model spreading cocaine on top of pancakes and children-version of Alex and Ray counting cash. It was not a good idea to tease this song as the first tease because the style was so different, it was jarring and not in a good way. For people who lament for a pre-2010 Hooverphonic, this was quite disappointing. It resulted in the video receiving 80% thumbs-down on YouTube.
I don't know if it was done in reaction to the negative reaction to the Cocaine Kids tease, the first single that was released on YouTube was Badaboum, which is closer to the pre-2010 dream pop that a lot of Hooverphonic fans crave.
Now that the album is out, I have listened to it a great deal and have some thoughts. I'll caveat this by saying that I don't have an ear for lyrics and could not tell you what any of the songs "are about" not only for this album, but for any album. I focus solely on the instrumentation, production, and vocalist's performance by listening on studio headphones.
Like Alex says above, this 10-track album features 5 singles with an A-side and a B-side with each guest vocalist being featured on both sides, and are all top notch in my opinion. Likewise, the production is fantastic with orchestration on 9 of the 10 tracks, cool samples, and the return of synthetic sounds.
The first two tracks feature Janie Price AKA Bird, who sounds like two different people. She has an awesome gritty voice in the first track, the titular "In Wonderland", which sounds like Angela McCluskey if she smoked cigars for 40 years. "I Like the Way I Dance" might be my favorite track on the album.
"Badaboum" and "Cocaine Kids" are, in my opinion, the perfect example of Alex's explanation, "In the sixties, A-sides were more marketable whereas B-sides were more abstract, more audacious. In terms of popularity, the B-side sometimes even surpassed the A-Side. That’s the concept we played with on In Wonderland". Badaboum is an accessible, groovy track that will probably do well for fans and non-fans alike. The B-side "Cocaine Kids" is probably the biggest departure from what fans are expecting. Alex explains, "All these tracks are collaborations and the singers all co-wrote their tunes, which are all drastically different. Partnerships broaden your horizons; they keep you fresh and on your toes whilst allowing you to evolve. Standing still is like going backwards. Interbreeding with other artists will draw you out of your comfort zone”. The fact that Alex references the Beatles Revolver album not a coincidence as the 1966 "Tomorrow Never Knows" is directly referenced in "Cocaine Kids" from the use of the Tanpura drone to the drum rhythm to the guitar. Sonically, it is a dense song that I can appreciate since I use studio headphones that allows me to hear every layer. Not all fans will like "Cocaine Kids", but I do. It's fun and different. I'm not a fan of every single decision with the vocals but doesn't detract from the rest of the track in my opinion.
The synth bass in conjunction with the piano and strings in "Deep Forest" are fantastic.
"Hiding in a Song" might be the weakest part of the album, but I enjoy Alex's bass playing on it.
The last track "Moving" sounds like it could have been off their earlier album "The President of the LSD Golf Club". The vocal composition contains Hooverphonic's signature semitone, which always creates a cool dissonance that I always enjoy listening for when I hear a new album.
Overall, I think "In Wonderland" is a very diverse and strong album. The best Hooverphonic album in years. Their decision to use guest vocalists is great and I hope they continue to do so on future albums. I love the five single concept with each one having an A and B side with the guest vocalist on both. The production is clean and orchestration sounds as good as ever. Allowing the guest vocalists to co-write the songs make every track sound different and this model of collaboration reminds me of what Damon Albarn has been doing with Gorillaz.
I think this IS the original band, just yet another new female lead singer and one of the guys (guitarist?) sings a lot of lead vocal, which is not an unwelcomed change. A few of the tracks are pretty solid, but this album is a bit all over the place. There's some sixties vibes (aka Jackie Cane-;like), then some 70s feel, but overall, not a bad disk. If you're looking for the early 2000's Hoover, this ain't it.
Not the same as their older stuff, but it has some really interesting parts to it. The way I dance had me laughing. Very relevant for what is popular today, maybe almost a little too much.
Un superbe album. Découverte du groupe Hooverphonic grâce à Taratata (merci beaucoup !!!). Vivement le prochain album. En attendant je vais compléter ma collection et découvrir les albums précédents.
Hooverphonic hat sich in 20 Jahren vom düsteren Pop-Rock zu einer unvergleichlichen Band aufgeschwungen, was sich in der GREATEST HITS genauso zeigt wie in diesem neuen Album. Meine Empfehlung: LIVE! Habe Hooverphonic in 2016 zweimal auf der Bühne gesehen, mit 3 Sängerinnen, einem begabten Sänger und Gitarristen und 10(!) Streichern. Sehr angenehm, nicht zu laut und melodisch ohne Ende. Emotionelle Musik für Optmisten und Lebenskünstler. Ich kenne derzeit nichts vergleichbares.
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