Harts
Smoke Fire Hope Desire
When Prince invited Darren Hart, aka Harts, to his Paisley Park mansion in 2014, he famously said, "He reminds me of me at that age." The praise could hardly be higher for the Melbourne singer/multi-instrumentalist, and while it would be hyperbolic to call him heir to the throne after Princes untimely death in April, on Harts second LP he demonstrates the maturity, skill and range to show that hes no flash in the pan. Where 2014 debut Daydreamer was an electro-funk-dominated nod to his musical mentor - think Justin Timberlake with guitars - Smoke Fire Hope Desire is more purple haze than Purple One, with more gravelly riffs and fewer squiggly synth lines, surely concocted with live crowds in mind. Tracks like "All Rise" and "Power" are rollicking rock jams that combine chant-along choruses with Harts virtuosic shredding, while the smoky atmospherics of "Fear in Me" and "Deeper the Hole" reveal the musicians broodier side, despite the overwhelmingly positive, self-empowering tone of his broad message. The title is reflected in interludes throughout the album - as scuzzy scene-setter ("Smoke"), funky fingerpicking ("Fire"), spoken word verse ("Hope") and ethereal penultimate track ("Desire"). The effect is a tad contrived, but like the album overall, its stylishly executed. However indebted Harts still is to his heroes, SFHD is nonetheless a diverse, considered accomplishment.