Following on from garnering a spot on Popical Island #2 with Barefoot in June, Hello Moon released their début album Only Count The Sunny Hours on Any Other City Records in September to much anticipation. This album is refreshingly upbeat, oozing musical sunshine and vitamins, a welcome break now that we’ve set our clocks back once again. The infectious hooks, jangly guitar and fuzzy vocals of the band’s charmingly lo-fi sound interact to make this début long player a melodic treat for our wind-chapped ears.
Vanity acts as our introduction to Only Count The Sunny Hours and suitably sets the overall chirpy musical tone that follows. The lyrics suggest an encounter of dizzyingly high proportions which has left the singer in a euphoric haze to the extent that its occurrence is now being questioned ‘Did I imagine you now?’. This feel-good atmosphere is only added to by the twinkling tones of the xylophone and majestic backing vocals. Measure Of Me is all about the build-up and has an almost Christmas carol-like ambience complete with ringing bells. Tight drumming is the basic appeal of Three More Inches whilst the intermittent whistling assures it ascension to a catchy number. Here I Am is another blissfully bright song which seamlessly succeeds in atmospheric terms by creating a mental tropical paradise for the listener with its surf-pop style.
Only Count The Sunny Hours isn’t all beaches and dreams, though. There are darker undertones throughout, as well as songs of a slower tempo. The cheerful musical stylings are somewhat misleading upon the first listen as further inspection of the lyrics reveals glimpses of self-doubt, regret and heart-break in places. Although the title of What’s The Use Of Falling, In Love? pretty much speaks for itself in this respect, other tracks need the listener to delve even deeper to unearth the bleaker sentiments of the album. For instance, Sievehead documents the age-old pain that comes from lack of recognition by the object of one’s affections. Its languid musical pace and stripped-down instrumentation augments the confessional aspect of the song and affords it the feel of a lullaby. It is suitable then that the accompanying music video may be interpreted as a dream sequence. Here I Am explores similar lyrical themes and touches on self-esteem issues ‘What if being yourself won’t do?’, despite its merry melodies.
It appears that Hello Moon are trying to impart a valuable life lesson to the listener by means of their marriage of uplifting music with downbeat lyrics. Scratching your head in confusion about what it could be? The hint’s in the album title. One could contend that the songwriter is of the opinion that we should always endeavour to focus on the positive elements of any situation as opposed to the negative and that the band have utilised the approach of combining jaunty music with subdued lyrics as a metaphor to communicate the aforementioned ethos to the listener. The perfect balance of style and substance.