Hello Cosmos DREAM HARDER
Hello Cosmos DREAM HARDER. Cosmic Glue
“Times are tough, horizons are doom and gloom but our reality is driven by our focus and our intentions. That’s why we are releasing DREAM HARDERr now. We need to remain dreamers, we need to think our way through, we need to hold our dreams, not our fears, in our minds.”
Review
It’s becoming rarer for a record and act to come along that offers something distinctive, original and adventurous, while providing wide accessibility. Further, that creates and performs songs about life today, with no rear mirror to the increasingly pedestrian needs of radio and TV play. One should also remember that songs comprise music and lyrics, and is meant to communicate truth. This has it all.
The record opens with the threatening guitar tones of ‘Fuse’ and its building ocean-deep bass line and talking vocal that is clear enough and expressive enough to make compelling listening. Lyrically, it punches hard and accurately: “Know your limitations and play to your strengths/Shadow sun and sky, let’s fuse tonight yeah/We’re in the bowels of Babylon tonight yeah/Lets not fake a single minute, let’s stay inside the mind of the golden sunrise/Let’s quit pretending we’re something we’re not/This ain’t hip hop by numbers, not even if it’s three/From the first day to the very last, let’s not fall for to the feeble minded, no lets stay enlightened.” Underneath the thrilling punkish rock is a melody and rhythm that dares you to carry on…
‘Tonight, Tonight, Tonight’ is an upbeat rocker with stuttered vibe and screaming guitars that continue to climb peaks. ‘Raise The Dawn’ hits the mark with its medium-paced, more conventional rock sound led by drums over another spoken vocal: “I caught you seeking, cut your beliefs while you broke this trust/Now that you see me, I’ve been waiting for something seems I’m still waiting yeah/Smashing these plates now, barefaced showing your culture in the fireplace/Well lets stick together, but lets be distinctly different so we don’t get bored.” Just check the final, relentless drumming climax. One of my favourite songs here and for good reason.
‘Frequency Fields’ then arrives to become another favourite with its strong melody, more trad rock sound, great instrumental arrangement and lead/backing vocals - this could be the airplay single to sink anything in its path. ‘The Cosmic Trigger’ takes a similar instrumental route as it thunders along in Flying Scotsman mode. ‘Step Out Of The Shadows’ offers more solemn, contemplative respite with instruments taking a back seat to allow the talking and singing vocal a wide soundstage. The melody is one of the strongest here while the lyrics tell a simple but effective tale: “Gotta step out of the shadows/Gotta play the game/Can’t stand in line or think twice, we’re too long in the grave/Gotta start making the effort, gotta stake my claim/Cos too many fools yeah they make all the noise, it’s time to speak for myself.”
‘Let Love Be The Island Upon Which We Stand’ takes on a mythical, echoed vibe adding welcome sonic diversity to the record. ‘Dream Harder’ is a rhythmic humdinger dominated by breathless, relentless drums under fast-talking vocals and distant echoed backing voices. The song ends on the vocalist sharply fronting with little instrumental interruption. Finally, ‘Renegade Love’ opens with far-flung guitar licks following thrown vocals with both travelling at the speed of light. To anyone looking for a slice of real and distinctive rock action, look no further. DREAM HARDER adds some individual magical ingredients, total self-belief, truthful lyrics and emotional intensity, enough to make stop and listen.
4/5
About Hello Cosmos
Hello Cosmos are a Manchester-based band and collective of creatives. A four piece at their core, and led by songwriter and bass player Ben Robinson, the founder of the celebrated Bluedot and Kendal Calling festivals. Also featuring the talents of mainstay members Angela Chan on viola/synths/vocals (notably a member of the Mercury-shortlisted Lanterns On The Lake and a touring member of Placebo), powerhouse drummer Simon Robinson (brother of Ben) and the uniquely styled guitarist Adrian Ingham (assisted by a stack FX pedals); together as Hello Cosmos they are a meeting of minds with immense capability.
With each new studio session, Hello Cosmos expands its sphere of collaborators, inviting a growing cast of guest musicians to add their own fuel to the creative mayhem. The band’s laissez faire approach has seen them work with over 50 artists worldwide to date, with members of The Pleasure Temple Ritual Band, Post War Glamour Girls, Galaxians, Lost Colours and more, lending their expertise.
Unfurling a string of singles, EPs and a debut album since their formation in 2017, Hello Cosmos found their breakthrough last year with the electro-punk of the RUN FOR PRESIDENT EP; winning over supporters from Radio X, to Under The Radar and Louder Than War in the process.
Translating the passionate intensity and vivid ideas evident in their studio recordings to the live stage, Hello Cosmos have performed at major festivals including Kendal Calling, bluedot, Live at Leeds and Liverpool Sound City and earned a positive reputation. Drawing on Ben’s experiences of working on shows featuring Flaming Lips, Bjork, Super Furry Animals to name a few; Hello Cosmos shows match the band’s own intrinsic energy with eye-popping visuals, Apollo mission boiler suits, and cyber-kinetic masks to create an AV spectacle.
However, with live shows now becoming a distant memory, Hello Cosmos instead put their all into DREAM HARDER - a record that stands as the essence of everything they have striven for so far. Created in the spirit of creative collaboration and offering a melting pot of influences, DREAM HARDER is designed to uplift and entertain at every turn and promises to be as audibly emphatic as it is visually immersive. It’s a record that urges its listeners to dream beyond the dystopian dereliction of today and push forward to a new, brighter future with a destiny that is entirely in their hands.
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