New Starts – ‘More Break-Up Songs’ album review: a modern take on ’90s indie rock
THE SKINNY: Darren Hayman made a name for himself as a member of the indie rock outfit Hefner back in the ‘90s. After they disbanded, he pursued a successful solo career, but, itching to be back with a band, he’s now formed the aptly-titled New Starts, recruiting members from Adults and Tigercats.
New Starts are now releasing their debut album, More Break-Up Songs. You can probably guess what it’s about. Over the course of 12 tracks, Hayman’s unmistakable vocals sing of our innate flaws and difficulties while navigating crumbling relationships. Song titles like ‘I Was Trying To Make You Miss Me’ sum up these themes pretty well.
His presence might seem like the main feature of the album – his voice is hard to avoid, and some will definitely like it more than others – but the rest of the band were given significant creative freedom, too. After working solo for many years, Hayman welcomed his new bandmates to give their honest input, even though he formed the main basis of every song. The record clearly welcomes the kind of experimentation and bouncing off one another that comes with working collectively, especially with musicians you haven’t played with before.
The album is mainly upbeat, with guitars that recall ‘90s indie rock. It feels like those hazy summer days when you’re young, and things feel like they’re falling apart, but the sun’s beating down onto the tarmac and you’ve at least you’ve got yourself for company. There are moments where the record sounds like Pavement, maybe a little too much at times, with Hayman’s voice roaming freely with the same occasionally-unpolished charm as Stephen Malkmus.
That’s not to say that More Break-Up Sounds is simply derivative. It definitely occupies its own space, which, if you had to pick one word to use to describe it, would perhaps be bittersweet. Yet, the album is hindered by a lack of variety. It’s easy for many of the songs to blur into one, and while every so often Hayman’s voice pierces through the soundscape with a certain notable melody, it’s not enough to give the album enough stability and sustained interest.
For fans of: Indie movies that you stumble onto at midnight on cable TV and reading people’s diaries.
A concluding comment from my boyfriend: “This album has echoes of Pavement to it. I’d rather just walk on the road.”
More Break-Up Songs track by track:
Release Date: August 16th | Label: Fika Recordings
‘A Little Stone’: Hayman opens the song with just an uneasy guitar accompanying his voice, singing, “there’s a little stone in my heart,” allowing the instruments to build around him into a cheery indie number. [3/5]
‘Under the Striplights’: The album sometimes recalls 2000s British indie rock, and the guitar on this song definitely has echoes of this era. There are some fun lines here, like “lie to me like it’s our first date” and “I’ll hold you like it’s the worst New Year.” [3/5]
‘Tease the Corners’: A sparse instrumental palette opens this one, with Hayman recalling negative things his ex-lover said with woeful humour. The guitars here are fairly upbeat, but they have a strong undertone of sadness. [3/5]
‘Don’t Need Persuading’: The album takes a much more mellow turn on ‘Don’t Need Persuading’, with Hayman telling the subject that he won’t need any persuasion to get him to stay round. “You’re the thing that I miss,” he laments. [3/5]
‘What I Specifically Love’: New Starts swing in a much more optimistic direction now, at least musically, with jolting guitars and peppy drums. Hayman follows ‘Tease the Corners’ by recalling things his ex-lover once did, good and bad, comparing her to both his “anchor and his iceberg.” [3/5]
‘Home Becomes A Lantern’: Hayman draws out his voice on the last word of each line here, putting extra emphasis on the ‘e’ sound. Sadly, this technique distracts from the quality of the song and the intimacy that was clearly meant to be achieved. [2/5]
‘Asbestos Roof’: “It’s not fair that we’re not young,” Hayman sings, with poignant riffs maintaining a steady rhythm behind him. It’s one of the album’s more memorable tracks, carrying with it a certain sadness. [3/5]
‘A Place to Be’: While this is a nice song, it doesn’t feel particularly noteworthy, going at mid-tempo with little instrumental interest. [2.5/5]
‘Pumpkins’: The same goes for ‘Pumpkins’. It isn’t particularly memorable, but it’s not a bad number. [2.5/5]
‘I Think You Need to Say I Love You’: While this song is lyrically interesting, the nice guitar section in the middle actually becomes the standout moment that is sadly cut too short, and it would’ve perhaps benefited from having more instrumental moments. [2.5/5]
‘I Was Trying to Make You Miss Me’: The penultimate track picks up the pace and contains some great melodies and lines, such as the humorous “I was trying to make you horny,” which fits into the track surprisingly well. [3/5]
‘Let Me Start Again’: The album ends on a slower note with ‘Let Me Start Again’, which flows into an instrumental section, the kind that wasn’t developed enough in ‘I Think You Need to Say I Love You’. This song does it much better. [3.5/5]
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