Glittery indie-pop overload.

In early October 2013, the indie pop band known as HAERTS, released their first EP entitled Hemiplegia. Their upbeat 80‰’s synth style mixed with shimmery guitar melodies and smooth female vocals helped to establish their sound and earned positive recognition among the music community. After going on tour, opening for acts like Atlas Genius and Washed Out, and collaborating with Jean-Phillip Grobler of St. Lucia, HAERTS has finally produced their first self-titled LP.

The 10-track LP contains plenty of high gloss synth pop tracks, 3 of which we already know from their EP. And while it can be appreciated that HAERTS has clearly found their sound on this record, it becomes extremely repetitive around the halfway mark.

Each glittery guitar chord and pulsing synth note becomes indistinguishable from track to track, quickly losing the attention span of the listener. This aside, HAERTS has a few standout tracks among its 41 minutes of play. “Hemiplegia‰” beautifully displays lead singer, Nini Fabi‰’s smooth vocals over sweet arpeggiating synths and thumping drum beats, while “No One Needs to Know‰” shows a softer side to the band drawing inspiration from Cyndi Lauper-esque pop beats.

With this album, its clear HAERTS knows who they are; they just played it too safe to see where they will progress.

RIYL: St. Lucia, Pure Bathing Culture, Beach House
Recommended Tracks: 2, 3, 5