Hercules & Love Affair

★★★★ In Amber SKINT/BMG. CD/DL/LP

Queer NYC dance collective go dark. Anohni guests.

On HALA’s preceding album, Omnion, linchpin Andy Butler’s signature tropes – disco, deep house, electro – carried additional traces of post-punk gothic; the partial soundtrack to his traumatised teenage years. With its echoes of This Mortal Coil and Clan Of Xymox, plus thudding drums from Budgie, In Amber goes the whole hog, to soundtrack what Butler describes as “destruction, rage, loss.” Abandoning HALA’s multi-vocal approach too, Butler – no born singer but impressively stentorian – alternates with Anohni, back for the first time since their 2008 debut. With lyrics such as, “Dystopian ecstasy/Secular eschatology”, it’s as much her record, but the pair are clearly singing from the same haunted hymn sheet. In Amber is nevertheless frequently beautiful, and occasionally offers succour. As the urgent One puts it, “Rise up… seek your truth… remember, no more dying.”