Studio B
Brooklyn
Words by Cameron Cook
Photos & Video by Abbey Braden
Being both a music writer and extremely prone to hyperbole, I find myself, after last Saturday’s brilliant Hercules and Love Affair performance, with the precarious task of describing the show in a truthful yet opiniated light, lest I obstruct this article with the trappings of my own fanaticism. So, let is be said: yes, Hercules and Love Affair are the best band to come out of the spiraling miasma of the music industry in the past 12 months. Yes, our incredibly high expectations of the night were completely shattered by the sheer amazingness of the performance. Yes, it was worth every painstaking minute of speculation, and no, as much as it perplexes me to even type this, we didn’t even miss Antony (the esteemed singer, and vocalist behind the band’s hit “Blind”, didn’t make an appearance, which might go for some as the show’s only disappointment).
Luckily, while Antony was a no-show, Hercules have two exquisite frontwomen (Nomi and Kim Ann Foxman, who are both prominently featured on Hercules’ self-titled debut) who bring a certain dichotomy to the songs: Nomi’s fiery, disco-influenced vocals took care of the performance’s energetic moments, Kim’s singing, like on her spaced-out torch song “Athene”, bring a much needed soothing aspect that prevents the band from ever taking it too over the top—not to suggest that Hercules aren’t skilled at what they do, because clearly, and in a very short period of time, they have laid down the blueprints for the future of dance music. Blending retro disco, electro, and early ‘90s house, they create a unanimously palatable and utterly coherent body of work.
Obviously “Blind” has become, justly, the ubiquitous favorite, but songs like “You Belong” (which beautifully showcases Nomi’s many vocal skills), dancey b-side “Shadows” and volcanic set-opener “True False, Fake Real” are indicators that Hercules and Love Affair is bound to push the dance genre forward, and especially in America, bring it full force into the mainstream. Even the composition of the band is inspiring: surrounding main songwriter Andy Butler, we have an extremely talented bunch of multi-ethnic, pansexual artists, who will probably find themselves on Saturday Night Live before the year is out. Hercules and Love Affair is the sound of music, and people, moving forward, and we couldn’t have been more excited to assist to their first step into the big time.
SETLIST:
True False, Fake Real
Shadows
Blind
I’m Telling You
Athene
Classique #2
Precious Little Diamond
You Belong
Raise Me Up
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Hercules Theme
“Blind”:
“Hercules’ Theme”:
“Classique #2″:
