Haelos
Earth Not Above
(Matador)
London trio Haelos often manages an unusual feat: the group takes the sterile sounds of electronic instruments and creates from them music that’s drenched with emotion. A couple of minutes into the EP Earth Not Above, there’s a loop-induced state of near-hypnosis through which Haelos’ vocals drift and echo. The songs don’t pay attention to pop convention, particularly in terms of length, unfolding in their own melancholic time.
“I guess at the heart of it we are always trying to capture that feeling you get at 5 a.m.,” says bandmember Arthur Delaney. It’s clear that doesn’t mean getting up at 5 a.m., but staying up ’til then. The EP evokes a sense of solitude, even desertion, but it’s a pleasant solitude, like a clock chime.
Haelos’ strength is its moody soundscaping, punctuated by reverb-heavy chords and echoing sounds that seem to hail from a couple of streets away. This is music that’s perfect for insomniacs with headphones and a great sound system.
There is, alas, a weak point, if a minor one: the band’s lyric-writing is the same old soggy relationship abstraction that plagues most pop. It’s delivered via multi-part vocals that are equal portions relaxed half-speaking and breathy, disco-era high register.
That, however, will hardly give you pause when you can’t sleep at 5 a.m. and need a good listen.•
