If I put down in writing the pieces of Hadda Be's approach to indie-pop, you'll likely say you've heard this kind of thing before. And maybe you have. But sometimes the vigor brought to the form is enough to create sparks where others have failed. Another Life, the new album from Hadda Be, confirms that there are still some surprises left in a style that's never really gone away. If anything, this London/Brighton group have sharpened the weapons of the genre such that everything on this Last Night From Glasgow release charms.
Let's start with "Another Life", the lead single that's been burned into my head for months. It snaps with a fuzzy fervor unlike other things in this genre, gnarly hooks giving this a heft that sort of surprised me on first listen. The first single is matched by the punk-y "Wait in the Dark", a harder cut here. That one's a highlight of Another Life, as is opener "Apathy", a chiming bit of business. Hadda Be owe more to, say, early Catatonia and Kenickie than they do Belle & Sebastian or The Cardigans, with so much of this actually rocking that one remembers how indie can sound with a little power behind it. In some ways, pieces of this will remind listeners of my age bracket of bands like Bettie Serveert or Belly, but Hadda Be remain wed to a uniquely precise form of melodic rock. There's not a single wasted note on Another Life and I'm trying not to simply just rave about everything here. Better for me to just urge you to get one of the very best releases of this spring when it's out on Friday.
Another Life is out on Friday via Last Night From Glasgow.
More details on Hadda Be via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Luthiem Escalona]