Manchester-based band Hello Cosmos release their dynamic debut album Dream Harder, full of innovative moments and creative soundscapes.
Creative and explosive, Dream Harder constitutes a blend of sounds from electronica to straight-up rock and is an album guaranteed to keep listeners interested the entire way through.
The record opens with rumbling basslines and explosive drums in the first track, FUSE, with somewhat motivational lyrics in places: “There is a way out, there is a path / If you try, if you try.” This album is one that “looks to shake humanity out of this comatose, fearful and isolated world we currently live in and dares to dream of a new and utopian one that awaits tomorrow” – and it definitely succeeds with this opening track.
The interesting lyrics continue in the following song TONIGHT TONIGHT TONIGHT TONIGHT, providing some imagery that certainly matches the album’s oneiric title: “We can only be what we are for twenty-four hours at a time / Leave the rest to the divine organisational power, the cosmic computer.” Pair this with the energetic drums and the siren-like drones in the background and you have yourself a track you can imagine speeding down a racetrack to.
The album continues in a similar vein until the first standout track, THE COSMIC TRIGGER. This shifts the mood of the album entirely with its pounding, relentless bass notes coupled with the ethereal background vocalisations halfway through the song. Meanwhile, STEP OUT OF THE SHADOWS takes on a more retro, melodic tone compared with the rest of the tracks.
LET LOVE BE THE ISLAND UPON WHICH WE STAND is another highlight, with a wonderfully futuristic vibe thanks to the recurring vocal motif and synthesisers that overlap with each other throughout. Additionally, just when you think the track can’t get any better, the final minute completes it with its bright, tranquil yet slightly mechanical sound. The album ends with the acoustic DOWN THE LINE and, whilst this track may not be to my personal taste, it is refreshing to hear something totally different from the rest of the record.
All in all, DREAM HARDER is by no means a boring album. Whilst a few of the tracks risk sounding repetitive on occasion, they are spaced out further enough throughout the record that listeners barely notice. To compensate, much of the album is a feast for the ears: innovative, creative, eclectic – and one that leaves me wondering what Hello Cosmos will come out with next.
Score: 3.5/5
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