Halou
Wholeness & Separation

THE REVIEW

Despite the technological progress in recent years having made giant strides in the telecommunication and media fields, keeping us, as (im)possible, always updated on the news, I like to think and imagine, more and more rarely to be honest, that the land of dreams still exists. Like children, it's wonderful to fly with our imagination and immerse ourselves in visionary and untouched realities, deluding ourselves into exploring still virgin territories. It is a journey I often take when I listen to a record I like, and doing it by distancing myself from the world, believing for a moment that the emotional transport is mine and only mine, is a rewarding and intoxicating experience that only in the green of youth is possible to experience.
Likewise, I enjoy rummaging through the musical underbrush in search of some hidden treasure, an arduous task that every now and then, not without stoicism, proves fruitful.

The Californians Halou are part of the myriad of musicians who swarm in the background without managing to engage the necessary gear to come out into the open.
Yes, but what is this gear? The unfathomable mysteries of marketing and the human mind do not come to our aid, and I certainly don't want to give myself a headache over this.

So I isolate myself and cling tightly to this secret chest in the pious illusion of being able to share it one day, even if, all in all, I don't really care that much for them to come out into the open as long as they continue to give me such emotions.

The music they offer does not shine for originality, since it is perhaps slightly outdated trip-hop exploited in every way. However, it is well made, well packaged, and beautifully sung by a female voice. Yes, because needless to say, speaking of trip-hop, the singing can only be by the fair sex.

Their hunting grounds are those of Hooverphonic, Mandalay, Moorcheba, and Goldfrapp, with the difference that all these got lost along the way, while Halou, just at their second album, are still traveling first class, updating the synthetic cut of the Bristol sound to the twenty-first century. The few times they speed up the rhythm, they get close to Garbage, as in the case of Wholeness and even more in Stone Fruit, a song Garbage haven't been able to write for years.

Twilight music, highly recommended for lovers of the genre, for somewhat sad and melancholic souls, and... obviously for dreamers.