HTRK - Venus in Leo
Venus in Leo, the panoramic fourth album from Melbourne based duo HTRK, arrives five years on from their last album Psychic 9-5 Club, and ten years since their breakthrough first album, Marry Me Tonight.
Venus in Leo sees the return of much-loved HTRK trademarks - the combination of space and intimacy, the unmistakable interplay between Nigel Yang's guitars and Jonnine Standish's vocals - but it differs markedly in energy, returning to HTRK's underground rock past with the stylistic playfulness and variety of a modern mixtape.
Over the soft strums of acoustic guitar, the album’s introduction, 'Into the Drama', posits a theory that “what was once considered self-sabotage could be revisited as being under the influence of Venus in Leo,” Standish explains. Fingerpicked guitar loops rise slowly and fall over a cold, brittle beat. Lovesong 'Mentions' finds Standish exploring the lack of physical intimacy in the social media age. Emotional highs include the kaleidoscopic single 'You Know How to Make Me Happy', which details a suspended state of ecstasy, Standish commending her partner’s conscious efforts to prop her up with compliments.
Recorded more or less live in HTRK's home studio in the Dandenong Ranges, the album's simple production reveals gorgeous, toned-back arrangements and an evolving, idiosyncratic songcraft.
THIS WEEK'S TOP TRACKS
Ainslie Wills - 'Clear Air After The Storm'
Easy Browns - 'Dam Eels'
Lurka - 'Stay Let's Together'
Tropical Fuck Storm - 'Who's My Eugene?'
Planet of The 8s - 'You You You'
certain cake - 'lip or tongue'
Noga Erez - 'Chin Chin'
Fierce Mild - 'No Sense'
Private Function - 'Talking To Myself'