Slurrup – Liam Hayes

Liam Hayes has always pulsed on the undercurrents of the Indie scene. That isn’t to say he’s gone unnoticed; he garnered acclaim in the early 90s with the pseudonym Plush and retro ditties like Found a Little Baby. Critics and hippie-souls alike crowned him a mastermind. Then he fell into a cycle of fading off the radar for a few years between albums, tinkering with his music to find that perfect alchemy. It’s a pattern that’s been turned on its head with the recent (succinct for Hayes) releases of Korp Sole Roller and Slurrup–the latter, of course, being the focus of this review.

Slurrup, released by the label Fat Possum, stays true to Liam Hayes’s signature style. It’s reminiscent of psychedelic rock, with its reverbs and phase effects, and has a mainly sunny disposition that adds a hyphenated “pop” to its genre description. If the album could be transposed onto a filmstrip, it would show yellow-tinged images of a vintage summer. Hayes’ melodies resonate with those of The Zombies or Beatles, but with a kick. Case in point, the track Fokus, an album highlight that’s as quick as it is catchy. While Slurrup veers away from the past intricacies of Plush, it retains that magnetism that made Hayes a cult following. Only this time with leaner hooks and lyrics. 

The caveat to this praise, however, is with the sound effect-type tracks Theme from Mindball and Channel 44. The first is akin to a carnival’s signature tune; the second like an atmospheric recording of one of its rides. While these kinds of additives feel unnecessary, they don’t deter from the auditory landscape of Slurrup overall. In fact, could we expect anything less idiosyncratic from Hayes? He’s always marched to the beat of his own drummer (one with nostalgia for the summer of love), and as an audience we’ll just have to patiently wait for his next batch while we replay the latest.   

Kelly Kirwan

Slurrup was released on 13^th January 2015, for further information or to order click here

Watch the music video for Fokus here: