Safekeeping

There is a most welcome, trend among Irish bands, whereby many are now indulging in a mad scientist approach to rock music. The earnest folkiness and gurning bombast of yore have been swept aside, as independent acts begin to favour a zanier, more oddball attitude to creating pop.
The current tendency towards shape-shifting three-minute punk-pop songs may itself become tedious in a short while – but for the moment it is refreshing. Cork eccentrics Hooray For Humans may not be the leaders of this current pack, but they are certainly another enjoyable exponent of the sound du jour.
Shorter records: another pleasing side-effect of the current sea-change in Irish indie. In general, albums are too long. Any move towards brevity is a step towards greater consistency: Safekeeping is just 35 minutes in length and, although it's not without faults, the snappy, throwaway feel is certainly to its benefit.
The opening two tracks set the tone in fine style: ‘Signature’ is quick-paced, vaguely grunge-y guitar pop, with a pleasing undercurrent of digital skronk. ‘Too Many Cooks’ has a lovely air of romantic melancholy beneath its fizzy electronic snap; the sweet boy-girl vocals nicely counterpoint the keyboards’ childish Casio plink.
The endearingly titled ‘Don’t Drink That!’ is the standout; the electronic undercurrent present on most tracks is pushed to the fore, and the rhythmic, jittery snap of the beat is nicely contrasted with a haunting melody, which sounds like it was written for an entirely different song.
There are even a couple of pleasing instrumental interludes: ‘Goodnight’ coats a gentle keyboard and xylophone melody in a film of static, while ‘Luck Dip’ is a gorgeous wave of soothing, undulating noise.
Some may say that this is innovative music, but to these ears, they would be mistaken; there have been AD/HD afflicted, electronic-touched guitar bands in the UK for years. Innovative or otherwise, though, this is bloody good music. Hooray for that.