Just to set the record straight: disco didn’t suck, it was just misunderstood by middle America and misappropriated by greedy record labels. Likewise, disco didn’t die, it just dissipated into the underground, to be reborn in the guise of other, more acceptable genres. The music that pounded out of 1970’s Manhattan hotspots like the Paradise Garage and Studio 54 bears a striking resemblance to the house and electronica that popped up in Chicago and Ibiza in the mid-80’s. But as those genres matured, they began to sound less like disco and more like something else altogether.
Two decades on, disco hasn’t exactly undergone a cultural reappraisal, but at least it’s no longer a poison word. Throw in a whole bunch of people looking to escape the world’s problems, and now is definitely the time for an album like Hercules And Love Affair. Unapologetically wearing its disco influences on its sleeve, this is party music for a new century. The backbeat is strictly electronica, but the attitude is all disco, minus the troublesome cliches. Featuring tart splashes of horns, angelic backup singers, and anthems aplenty, this is powerful, uplifting music that works just as well on the dancefloor as it does on the headphones.
The band is made up of a collective of musicians based in and around Brooklyn, NY. Main man Andrew Butler holds the whole thing together, but he had the good sense to farm out most of the vocal duties on this album. Guest star Antony Hegarty (of Antony & The Johnsons) has morphed from a dour torch singer to a full-fledged disco diva – a stylistic change that may finally deliver him to the mass audience he deserves. On ‘Blind’ he sings like Gloria Gaynor in reverse – he might not survive, but he’s going to sound fabulous on the way down. Meanwhile, electric vocal turns by Kim Ann Foxmann and Nomi suggest that Antony isn’t the only diva in the mix.
The Greek themes sprinkled throughout the album are a wry touch, but the real history covered here is just three decades old. A full generation removed from its heyday, disco’s ancient roots have sprouted a fresh flower in Hercules And Love Affair.
Listen: Blind (full album version)
Tags: Andrew Butler, Antony Hegarty, disco, Hercules And Love Affair, Instant Classic, Kim Ann Foxmann
23 July 2008 at 8:06 am |
Disco does suck. I don’t live in Middle America and I don’t understand it. Eminem said it best “…it’s over, nobody listens to techno…”
23 July 2008 at 11:29 am |
Just so I’m clear, does disco suck more or less than the Rolling Stones??
And who listens to Eminem anymore? Next you’ll be telling me to worry about Y2K…
23 July 2008 at 4:02 pm |
Having just done a fair chunk of the European festival circuit, I can testify that everybody listens to techno, and it can be a fine thing indeed.
23 July 2008 at 9:11 pm |
Only current music references are sufficient?…about disco? And since I already dress like a Euro, I may give techno a second try!
23 July 2008 at 10:34 pm |
Musical references of all eras are welcome, but Eminem makes for a poor spiritual advisor…
24 July 2008 at 1:21 am |
[...] dk presents… It’s all about the music « Instant Classic: Hercules And Love Affair [...]
24 July 2008 at 9:10 am |
great album. antony’s weird tranny voice has never sounded better.