I first came across Hurdles, quite back accident in late 2013 and it was love at first listen. Returning with a happy, shiny, upbeat EP in 2016 ‘Dusk & Dawn’ has all the classics Hurdles aesthetic with some added pizazz.
As I clicked play of the EP I have to admit my spirits were low as I looked out onto the Ormeau Road from my office at the mounting traffic, happiness seemed like a distant memory and then ‘Closer’ started and the guitars kicked in and suddenly all the gloom vanished and left me with thoughts of summer holidays and wasting sunny days on grassy knolls
Fans of Two Door Cinema Club and The 1975’s first album will find Hurdles and easy addition to their indie-pop collection. For new listeners Dusk & Dawn is much heartier treat. Fresh and vibrant each chord from the opening of ‘Closer’ to the close of ‘France’ is something to wrap your lobes around.
While any avid listener of the band will hear a maturity from their early days of Kaleidoscope in early 2013, a natural progression in sound and growth in talent. Title tracks ‘Dusk & Dawn’ opens with a somewhat melancholic ‘Radio GaGa’ beat, a beat that fades into a sporadic and uplifting chorus of strings and percussion. Bringing a summers-day road-trip over the listener it’s most certainly a track that is going to get stuck in your head and brighten your mood.
Although there is hard-hitting quality to their music, Hurdles present the listener with an audio delicacy. Rising and falling in waves each track has a solid, catchy back beat enlivened with carefully crafted instrumental composition, showcasing the very best of indie guitar and drums.
The lightness the strings in Dusk & Dawn and, Wake is, as far as I am concerned the very definition of indie-pop sound. It’s hard to pick a favourite, each track is unique, brilliant and breath-taking in it freshness. Each track can stand on its own merit and be enjoyed whole-heartedly, removed from its companions but, you would be depriving yourself of a complete audio indulgence.
As the waves give a back drop to closing track ‘France’ you may find yourself perusing Jet2 or EasyJet for good deals on sunny getaways. Each track in its own way builds to a crescendo and stands on its own but, flows beautifully into its successor and there’s no questions that sun, sand and surf will definitely be on your mind after the a single listen.
Much like Two Door Cinema Club, Hurdles have the ability to hurdle themselves and indie into the limelight and the mainstream, I can’t imagine it being very long before they are a headline act of any number of the big UK and European festivals.
A truly uplifting and vibrant EP from start to finish Duck & Dawn is faultless, flawless, funky and fun.
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