Melbourne/Naarm new wave and post-punk outfit Hooper Crescent have shared ‘Karaoke Love’, the second single from their forthcoming LP, Essential Tremors. It’s a synth-centric outsider pop song rooted in a vintage drum machine groove.
‘Karaoke Love’ follows the album’s lead single, ‘Late Night TV’, which came out in September. Essential Tremors will arrive on Friday, 23rd February via Spoilsport Records. It’s Hooper Crescent’s second album, following the DIY and lo-fi Object Permanence from 2020.
Hooper Crescent – ‘Karaoke Love’
“‘Karaoke Love’ is our attempt to move away from guitar-driven songwriting and lean into some of the drum machine and synth experiments we’ve been messing around with for a while,” said the band’s lead vocalist, Sam Cummins, in a statement.
Cummins explained that while they were initially inclined to write something akin to 80s new wave and art rock acts Chris & Cosey and Talk Talk, they ended up “landing somewhere slightly different on the genre map.”
Cummins’ Hooper Crescent band mates are Kate Allan (keys), Ian Ngo (guitar), Gemma Helms (bass) and Ash Stirling (drums). John Lee recorded, produced, mixed and mastered the new album, while Sam Lyons (Eggy) played saxophone. Jooyoung Kim created the excellent cover artwork. Pre-order Essential Tremors here.
Further Reading
Hooper Crescent Announce New Album, Share Video for ‘Late Night TV’
TISM Release New Single ‘I’ve Gone Hillsong’
Icehouse and Simple Minds Release Cover of T. Rex’s ‘Get It On’
