One could argue that the 80s have never been so prominent in the public conciousness as they are right now. My personal theory is that all of us 20-somethings have a certain nostalgia for the decade of our earliest years. We lived in the 80s, it’s true, but one could say we didn’t really live them- and yet it seems that their fashion, movies, and music have all come back into vogue. Could it be we’re all trying to live a little bit of the decade we were too young to truly experience the first time? I’m not sure, but it could help explain both the sound of Seattle’s Hotels and my affinity for their sophomore album, Where Hearts Go Broke.
If I had to describe Hotels, I’d have to recur to words like “spaced-out,” “poppy,” and “synthesizer,” and I’d be using these words, for the most part, positively. Though you can hear that the 80s had a strong influence on their sci-fi indie pop (they even have songs titles like “Flight of the Navigator”), I can’t quite say they sound like band X or Y. It’s pop, that’s for sure, and the flourishes and sounds give everything a dreamy touch without affecting the catchiness of it all. Since I picked this one up on Valentine’s Day I’ve found it to be a solid, throuroughly enjoyable album. Check out the album opener, “Hydra,” below, and feel free to head on over to Hidden Shoal records and their myspace to check out some more!
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