HERO - Dirty Work EP

HERO
Dirty Work EP
2019
Spotify

HERO is a bit of a mythical creature in the music scene. The genre bending Montreal based artist is fervent about defying preconceptions. His music is rarely the same, even though the theme of dark romance always seems to permeate everything that He does. HERO finds this interesting balance between House and R&B that at times feels like a throwback, but then changes into something totally different. A lot of the sounds are recognizable, but they way they are delivered offers something totally new. The first song finds this incredible groove and the only thing that HERO says throughout the song is "Take me back to your place" and "Can I stay the night". You wouldn't even typically call this a song with lyrics because they are so minimal, but the repetition somehow makes them work. "Nightcrawler" has a heavy Daft Punk, M83 kind of vibe and really bangs pretty damn hard. There is this really slick vibe throughout this album that is inescapable. The pounding electronics broken by gentle keyboard lines is nothing new but in the hands of HERO it feels fresh as hell. At one point on "Nightcrawler" the words "I want to eat you alive" come through heavily autotuned and it sets the song on a trajectory straight for the atmosphere. There are tons of these little moments that make this EP really soar. The mystique of the project also adds to the overall vibe on the record. Instead of in your face or on the nose HERO manages to create something that is interesting from the jump, and then never lets up.

The album's title track sets off into this truly wild extravaganza that sounds like The Knocks mixed with Daft Punk. For all the excitement this album generates it is incredibly brief. The songs clap when they are here, but they come and go so quickly that their impact feels a bit lessened. There are wonderful elements but HERO flies past them almost unnoticed. Everything starts to feel a bit flippant and passing, like on "Note to Self" where the robotic voice that sings the vocals starts to be just another sound passing you by. Things aren't allowed much space to grow and bloom. Urgency can ad a nice dose of fire to a slow paced record but here it makes everything feel hurried. There is so much room for lyrics that goes unused, but then the electronic dance element of the songs aren't good enough for them to win purely based on dance. There is a balance to be found here, and it is one that is well within HERO's grasp to find. Whether He finds that balance is yet to be determined.

6.0 out of 10