The Feast Of The Broken Heart
PIAS Australia
Hercules And Love Affair is the brainchild of New York City producer, Andy Butler. An outfit that often stands and falls on the strength of its collaborations came to prominence when the sublime voice of Antony Hegarty graced the band’s beat heavy debut. For their third album, The Feast Of The Broken Heart, Butler again gets by with a little help from his friends.
The Feast Of The Broken Heart is a revisionist romp through the dance and house scene of the ‘80s and ‘90s with some decidedly camp appeal along the way. Drag performer, Rouge Mary, is given vocal duties on three occasions, bringing a defiant assuredness to 5:43 To Freedom. It is Krystle Warren who has the most impressive pipes of all collaborators and her effort on the beat and beeps heavy The Light is the standout.
Indie crooner, John Grant, who recently announced that he is HIV-positive, finds himself in different territory as he gives his deep voice to the Magnetic Fields-like beats and piano of I Tried To Talk To You and unleashes a less brooding vocal on the bright Liberty.
Butler uses The Feast Of The Broken Heart to drive home his obvious passion for disco and life after dark in the clubs. This could well be the most flamboyant and confident record yet for Hercules and Love Affair even it if does rely a little too heavily on the past.
CHRIS HAVERCROFT
