Full Circle

Every generation has their own version of the blues, music that captures a sense of melancholia and provides a sonic reflecting pool for young lovers, old souls, and the eternally heartbroken. For their darkly shaded and radiant debut album 'Full Circle', Haelos have found their blues where others go to find pure, uncut joy: the dancefloor. The London trio's version of a night out is a million miles away from mirror balls and sweaty bodies, their rippling electronic pop conjuring the exhilarating privacy of a cavernous club's dark pockets and the introspective comedowns that accompany rainy 5 a.m. cab rides. Catharsis is, indeed, the name of 'Full Circle's game, an embodiment of a sound that has been referred to as "dark euphoria". Throughout the album, Haelos reconstruct the firmament of dance sounds past and present to construct an exquisitely elegiac mood that retains a sense of presence as it conveys the pain of emotional distance. Every moment of uneasy reflection is matched by quiet explosions - Delaney's forceful shouts over yo-yo synths on Full Circle's title track, Benardout's layered pleas over Goldsmith's cascading drum breaks on 'Pray,' and the soaring 'Separate Lives,' which hollows out drum'n'bass' propulsive patter to form an atmosphere that's as gently disruptive as it is emotionally nourishing. Throughout the album's loudest and most peaceful moments alike, 'Full Circle' retains a pristine intimacy thanks to Goldsmith's keen ear for behind-the-boards magic; his touch gives the album a hermetic feel that stays with you long after it ends. LP - With Download.