Whether you like it or not it’s possible to refer to the Hours as a ‘supergroup’. Antony Genn, formerly of Elastica and Pulp, and Martin Slattery, of touring fame with Black Grape, are the two components which make the Hours tick. OK fair enough a mixture of Elastica and Black Grape isn’t necessarily ‘super’ but it does demonstrate pedigree and rightfully garners expectation.
The Hours are an interesting proposition, sitting somewhere between Keane and Coldplay but without the gigantic fan bases those two acts command. So it was with anticipation that I took my first listen to their sophomore album ‘See the Light’. Lead off single ‘Big Black Hole’ is a piano-laden sing-a-long with a chorus which feels like its straining to get out but never quite does. It’s missing an urgency and power which a lead off single desperately needs and an underwhelming start is hardly favourable for the rest of the album.
Unfortunately too often it feels like the Hours are just a weaker version of Keane (which is saying something) with ineffective piano lines dominating the record. ‘Think Again’ is a slow burner which never catches fire while ‘See the Light’ wants to be an epic finale but lacks bite at the crucial moments. Instead of fading out and leaving an anthemic feel it peters out and splutters to a conclusion.
It’s not all bad though and sometimes that pedigree rises to the fore. ‘These Days’ is a much improved track with a chorus which grabs you and pulls your heart strings and adds some welcome drama to the album. The album’s highlight is ‘The Girl Who Had the World at her Feet’ with the memorable line “the cash cow is heading for the abattoir, everyone wants front row seats.” It’s a gentle yet epic track with looping pianos and impassioned vocals which make you sit up on your seat and wonder why the Hours have let so much time tick away before taking our breath away.
So the only fair way of describing this album is a mixed bag to say the least. The Hours are capable of blowing you away but too often they fall hopelessly into mediocrity and the most frustrating part is that deep down you feel they’re more than capable of better – it just takes time to draw their best work out.
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