Hyperbubble are from Texas and consist of Avengers-loving Jess (vocals, keyboards and bionics) and Jeff (sequencers, synthesisers and vocals), the latter owning up to a Bee Gees lunchbox as most prized possession. Hyperbubble live in a world where you make music to have fun and don’t ever take yourself too seriously. That said, the music is not just slung together. It’s clear that a lot of thought has gone into the melodies, the rhythm and the spot sound effects utilised during each track.
The album kicks off with the bouncy Synesthesia, filled with Jess’s sultry vocals, whooshes and echoed hand claps before Jeff’s monotone vocals let us in on the secret: “Casio Synthetic Strings, 707 drum machine, a D4, a mixing board, a microphone, a MicroKorg”. 2 ½ minutes of synth perfection. And then we’re off again.
The vast majority of tracks on this album are quite short, lasting anywhere between just under a minute up to 3 ½ minutes. This means that no tracks really hang around long enough for you to get bored of them, in and out as quickly as possible...
There’s a little Jean Michel Jarre cameo at the start of Polyurethane, which may seem a little odd but also fits in quite well. I swear that Reversible was considering breaking into the theme from Top Gun as well at one point before deciding better of it. The band’s influences are clearly early 80’s with a modern twist, but they don’t go for the icy cold harshness of the now departed electroclash style. Hyperbubble are about feeling warm and fuzzy inside, harking back to the likes of Buggles in particular (for those who know Living In The Plastic Age album rather than just the classic singles from it). Lyrically the duo serve up a mix of futuristic messages along with bubblegum teen life, from the Dilbert-esque Commuter to disco rollerskating tribute Rollerboogie Babydoll.
The final nice touch is the bonus track called , wait for it, Bonus Track. Can’t recall anyone else pulling this trick before and actually it again works well. I’m sure Hyperbubble are a blast live, but I’ll make do with the album seeing as they’re on a different continent and several light years ahead of me. I have to say that some may well dismiss this album as forth or cheese, but that is really not giving it a chance. Sometimes you just have to lighten up and just go with the flow. There’s time for angst later, have some fun for a while. This album has been on repeat for the last three weeks (which is why this review is a little late, trying to work out what I was going to say but too busy just having a blast…).
Si Woolridge-Synthpop.net
