The dense soundscapes on Hooray for Earth's still-untitled full-length are hard to pinpoint, which is why band-leader Noel Heroux puts his tastes (and Hooray for Earth's music) somewhere between harsh-noise and Enya. "The juxtaposition isn't totally inaccurate, as ridiculous as it is to say," Heroux says. "I get more emotionally affected by extremes. I've really grabbed onto the positive, uplifting feelings in music that get me super psyched—but that can also come from sounds that are daunting and a little scary." Celebrating their new album—coming out in the spring of 2011 on Dovecote Records—lead single "True Loves" is a perfect example of Heroux's favored dichotomy. Building from Hooray for Earth's acclaimed debut EP, Momo, "True Loves" thumps along neck-snapping drums, awash with blips and synths, surprising breakdowns and Heroux's soaringly languid vocals. Like the rest of the record and Momo before it, the song sprung directly from Heroux's imagination into a climactic reality. "I don't write music with an instrument, I usually just get an idea of what the whole song sounds like in my head, kind of like an earworm that stays with you after listening to the radio. My task is to recreate what's stuck in my head in actual audible form, as quickly as possible," he says. "I wish I could just plug a cord into my head...I think that's why the music tends to be a little dense, because I think of all these things at once." Heroux wrote, recorded, and produced about 90% of the new album, with bassist Christopher Principe and guitarist/live synthist Gary Benacquista peppering parts in a few sessions, and drummer Joseph Ciampini adding two days of rooftop drum tracking. Mixed by Chris Coady (Beach House, Blonde Redhead, Delorean, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio), the album might as well be a direct link to the exciting mind of Heroux. Hooray for Earth's progression is apparent everywhere on the record and boasts exciting things for a band that has already appeared onstage with Mission of Burma, Holy Fuck, Surfer Blood, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Oh No Ono, and many more. Recorded over five weeks in New York, it's at once specific to the summer of 2010 and transcendent of time itself. Once again, a happy set of extremes. "Most of the [recording] process is just me getting lost and trying to get things done. I feel like I'm on autopilot sometimes. I'll finish a song and wonder, 'When did that happen?' I don't spend a lot of time stressing about what instruments to use or what's missing, I just kind of let it be."
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