Hooverphonic
The Night Before

So... This is my first review on Debaser, and I'm starting with this album by Hooverphonic, the first one without Geike Arnaert and featuring the new singer Noemie Wolfs, an epochal change for a band that had achieved considerable success thanks (at least in part) to the distinctive voice of its singer. Having said that, as with all bands, I don't think it's fair to judge new work based on what was done before, so I will avoid the tedious comparisons between the two singers, which, by the way, have already been abundantly made on the Internet...

Now let's get to the album: it undeniably sounds more commercial than other works by the group, more pop, but without losing too much in quality. At least if you get over the "trauma" of the first track, that “Anger Never Dies” overplayed on the radio and which, at least in my opinion, is a catchy tune, not bad but definitely not memorable. Once past the first track, things really get going with the beautiful and rhythmic “The Night Before,” but especially with the two standout tracks of the album, the refined “Heartbroken” (in my opinion the most beautiful song by Hooverphonic after “Mad About You”), and the splendid “Norwegian Stars.”

The rest of the album remains at high levels, alternating slow and refined tracks like “More,” “How Can You Sleep,” and the concluding “Danger Zone,” where Noemie gives great proof of herself and her beautiful voice, with more lively and rhythmic tracks like “One Two Three,” “Identical Twin,” and the splendid “Encoded Love.”

The only flaw: the presence of a track like “George’s Café,” which Hooverphonic must really like (having included it also in the subsequent “With Orchestra” and played it live when I went to hear them), but which I really struggle not to skip when I put on this CD...

Having said that, the album is really pleasant to listen to, the average quality of the tracks is very high and the variety of the tracks themselves reveals how the very talented Alex Callier has not at all lost his inspiration, even while moving to a product that is certainly more commercial than those of the past (from the concept album “Presents Jackie Cane” to the acoustic-orchestral live “Sit down and listen to”). They are a different Hooverphonic, it's not their most beautiful album, but if only there were more "pop" albums like this one...