The music of Hefner, Darren Hayman's best known band, favored strummy hooks and plaintive vocals and an overall emotional delivery of material. The more measured approach of Amazing Things, Darren's new record as Darren Hayman and his Electric Guitars, is in the service of songs which are precise, and still ones which convey a lot of feeling. The release, a song-cycle about a friend wanting to do "amazing things" despite a cancer diagnosis, is one of Darren's most affecting offerings in ages.
While "Nobody You'd Know" sets the stage here with the kind of serious tone you'd expect on a record ostensibly about cancer, "Teenage Guitar" is more energetic and lively. The style here on this selection recalls solo records from Vic Godard, and Hayman's almost-spoken vocal style works well on the deliberate verses, even as the chorus takes flight. Elsewhere, "Something Beautiful" seems to simply sum up the vibe of the record, offering the sort of tune that works well in the context of the cancer journey of the subject of the album, but also as a standalone piece of work. It is, like Hayman's best stuff, a song that's expertly constructed but which retains a kind of DIY charm that gives it copious amounts of heart.
Amazing Things is all about heart. The whole project is detailing a fight against cancer, or a fight against time for someone who's been diagnosed. That resilience in the face of doom makes for the kind of indie that works well in Hayman's hands. He could easily have used an approach like he did in Hefner, with more urgent music throughout, but as it is, this record works best when Darren uses a contemplative, measured approach. Even as his guitars wail and churn around his hushed tones.
Amazing Things by Darren Hayman and his Electric Guitars is out now via WIAIWYA. Details below.
[Photo: One of a Kind PR / Darren Haymen]