‘Cry All The Time’, the new album from Chicago band romantically named Impulsive Hearts is an instantly adorable release that captures an indie low fi dynamic adorned by brilliantly exotic instrumental flourishes.
The album is exemplified by singer Danielle Sines’s gorgeous expressive voice – loaded with yearning and melancholia, melodic and evocative that pours over an instrumentation that is a mixture of fuzz and distortion with flourishes of violin and saxophone, adding indelible layers to the soundscape. You could file with Sharon Van Etten, Mazzy Star, Dum Dum Girls amongst others.
The album kicks off with ‘Melody’ – a song with all the effervescence and unbridled pace of something from Arcade Fire and yet the saxophone cannot help but remind me of Ian Dury and the Blockheads with its wild subtlety.
‘Kidding’,’Exodus Evening Company’ and ‘Can I Ask U?’ are prime examples of the anthemic and celestial range within the songs: strong on melody and intelligent delivery. Impulsive Hearts ultimately deliver stadium rock for the indie scene: profoundly uplifting, heartfelt and passionate with intelligence.
‘Telephone Girl’ slows the pace but has an intrinsic beauty highlighted by the subtle strings – haunting, evocative. Sines’s voice has that delicate beauty and antithetical strength epitomised by Dusty Springfield:
As a totality, this is an absolutely endearing album – there is an element of mysticism and rawness, innocence and weariness. It evokes a sense of a coastal summer: windswept vistas and messing about in boats. And yet there is a haunting tristesse underneath it all. Lovely.
Impulsive Hearts are:
Danielle Sines – vocals, guitar and synth, and noises on tape recorders.
Doug Hoyer – bass, guitar, keys, and sings.
Fallon McDermott – saxophone
Jess LeMaster – violin and vocals.
Dan Julian – drums.
You can get the album here:
You can stream it here:
