One day in 2014 Kasia from good Polish blog Zapetlone decided to dedicate some songs to the people who asked for it. I got a song by London duo Hugh. Sadly, I can't recall what it was but my money is on I Can't Figure You Out. I liked the song 'though she warned me that 'it might be too lighweight for me' (the word someone understands in a different way, heh) Not many people recommend me songs, so I knew from the start that I would never forget this band.
And I didn't have to forget them because Joshua Idehen (previously in LV and Benin City), Izzy Brooks, Andy Highmore and Tino Kolarides continued to make music together. On 25th May Hugh released their debut album Love, Hugh. It's easy to describe it as just one more solid minimalistic outing that makes London the world capital of electro-soul (at least in my opinion). But what makes it stand out is - first of all - pleasing natural harmony of male and female vocals helped by different ethnic backgrounds of Izzy and Joshua. In the world of countless featurings that reduce singing or rapping guests to the inessential ornaments, it is not a common virtue.
The biggest highlight of the album for me is single Go - definitely house-inspired, but also with old-fashioned disco feel. Accompanying video has been already described in detail by CLASH. The opener This How It Starts, slightly ominous I Don't Like You and romantic In and Out of Love also deserve attention. Joshua's spoken section in Look Back in Laughter is an interesting change of pace, too. I feel that Hugh haven't revealed their whole potential so we can already guess that their next album may be even more crafty and intriguing...
You can check and buy the album on Bandcamp.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/hughlovehugh
SC: https://soundcloud.com/hughlovehugh
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