From now until January 13, I'll be featuring my favourite tracks of 2008, some of which have already appeared in Click Hear throughout the year, some of which haven't.
There's a reason why we put Cut Copy on the cover of our December/January issue: In Ghost Colours was an exceptional album that gave the long-running trio overdue recognition and oft-stagnant indie kids not only some new heroes to worship but also a reason to shake off the shyness and just let loose.
In defying any sort of genre pigeonholes with a sound that took inspiration from shoegaze, new wave, house, electro and Krautrock, they delivered hook-laden pop music that reigned supreme. As a result, 11 out of the album's 15 songs could have been singles (we'll disregard the four interludes).
Knowing that, this spot really could have gone to any one of those songs - they're all worthy contenders. However, there's just so much to "Hearts On Fire" that made it the album's centerpiece, both literally and because of its standout features. Dan Whitford's big lyrical heart ("Your hand is out and brushes mine/A moment that is frozen as we hang in time") throws it back to the retro romanticism of any one of the New Romantics or new wave powerhouses. Meanwhile, the sound bubbling up from under him recalled New Order's Technique, thanks to the song's overwhelming taste for Ibiza-leaning acid house and that unmistakable Peter Hooky bass line. Throw in some manipulated Italo House diva screams and it was ecstasy without the dehydration and aching jaw.
There's a reason why we put Cut Copy on the cover of our December/January issue: In Ghost Colours was an exceptional album that gave the long-running trio overdue recognition and oft-stagnant indie kids not only some new heroes to worship but also a reason to shake off the shyness and just let loose.
In defying any sort of genre pigeonholes with a sound that took inspiration from shoegaze, new wave, house, electro and Krautrock, they delivered hook-laden pop music that reigned supreme. As a result, 11 out of the album's 15 songs could have been singles (we'll disregard the four interludes).
Knowing that, this spot really could have gone to any one of those songs - they're all worthy contenders. However, there's just so much to "Hearts On Fire" that made it the album's centerpiece, both literally and because of its standout features. Dan Whitford's big lyrical heart ("Your hand is out and brushes mine/A moment that is frozen as we hang in time") throws it back to the retro romanticism of any one of the New Romantics or new wave powerhouses. Meanwhile, the sound bubbling up from under him recalled New Order's Technique, thanks to the song's overwhelming taste for Ibiza-leaning acid house and that unmistakable Peter Hooky bass line. Throw in some manipulated Italo House diva screams and it was ecstasy without the dehydration and aching jaw.