He really did what he wanted to do ! I love it ! Who cares about 2 and half min song ? Give us a 9:18 and we're happy, Darren !
I really hope Bith is an hidden track at the end of the cd. But I don't know if it all fits in 1 cd...
Darren Hayes - Homosexual
- Thread starter mrp2910
- Start date
He really did what he wanted to do ! I love it ! Who cares about 2 and half min song ? Give us a 9:18 and we're happy, Darren !
I really hope Bith is an hidden track at the end of the cd. But I don't know if it all fits in 1 cd...
Going back to the title.
I fucking love it. And that cover is slay central.
This is the first era that I have truly been a fan and I'm loving every minute.
I fucking love it. And that cover is slay central.
This is the first era that I have truly been a fan and I'm loving every minute.
I was a big fan of him back in the day, and while his latest sound is not my cup of tea, I am so happy for him. Doing what he wants to do and comfortable in his own skin is nice to see. His voice is so underrated, and the industry have treated him like garbage. Good on him for picking the album title, and taking a stand for himself.
He deserves all the success and love.
He deserves all the success and love.
Total lenght 85:19. wow! So far Poison Blood has been the only song I've loved, but All You Pretty Things was alright too. Production and art direction music-wise has been a bit all over the place, so really interesting to see how everything lands in album context. I've adored everything he's done after Spin, so hopefully I won't be dissappointed this time either.
Loving the video - All You Pretty Things is my favourite Darren single since Crush (1980 Me).
He/him
First review is in from The Sydney Morning Herald.
The Sydney Morning Herald
What to listen to this month: Former Savage Garden frontman’s defiant return
Annabel Ross and Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen
September 30, 2022 — 5.30am
Darren Hayes, Homosexual
★★★½
Darren Hayes’ first solo record in more than a decade is an act of emancipation. On his fifth album Homosexual, the former Savage Garden frontman reclaims the word and his identity as a gay man, delving deep into his psyche and memories. There’s defiance on these songs, a middle finger to those who have kept him down until now, and a naked, unabashed sensuality intertwined with a sense of freedom after being subjected to the homophobia and pressures of the music industry for decades.
Darren Hayes first solo album in more than a decade is Homosexual. SUPPLIED
That freedom is also shown in Hayes’ disregard for the conventions of mainstream pop music – most of these synth-driven tracks race past the five-minute mark, with some pushing closer to 10. Homosexual is Hayes doing music on his own terms – the musician took the helm on every aspect of this record, from composition and performance to production and arrangement. Everything is exactly as he envisions it – this is a world all his own.
Harking back to the Savage Garden days, Hayes has always been a master of melody, with a real knack for an earworm chorus. That remains here, but there’s a bolder sense of experimentation alongside it – these songs are more esoteric than the ballads casual listeners might expect from the man who wrote some of the most romantic songs of the 1990s.
Take the dark, nine-minute Hey Matt, which sees Hayes adopt a lower vocal register to address an alter ego whose desires he’s suppressing: “my daddy issues still ache / but they’re just so heavy I think I’ll leave them here for someone else to claim.” His vocals jump to the other end of the spectrum with the glittery Music Video, almost cartoonish in pitch, as he name-drops primary school classmates, and himself, to unpack very early memories of difference, and an escape through pop culture: Pat Benatar, Michael Jackson and Back to the Future all get hat-tips. Hayes’ famous falsetto is front and centre on the slower number Poison Blood, exploring his family history of mental illness. The musician’s range is impressive and on full display.
Then, to the other side – a fully formed adult, now 50, who carries the scars of these years, but has come into his own. It’s all in the joyousness of the title track, which is split into two acts. There’s an audible relief in these songs, which are designed for the dance floor: all pulsing rhythms, heavy bass and shimmering, echoing reverb.
But there’s still some sorrow in the present-day songs, including the bittersweet eight-minute single All You Pretty Things, which pays tribute to the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. Adopting elements of disco, it’s laid thick with grooves to rival Kylie and embraces the communal joy of the queer club. It highlights the importance of creating safe physical and emotional spaces for queer people, as he sings: “we’ve got to dance to remember them.”
Some of these tracks can veer towards the cheesy, both in sound and content, and there are some less compelling points – see the unnecessary autotune and speak-singing on Euphoric Equation, which is more musically than vocally successful. A record like this tipping over the one-hour mark does mean it begins to get repetitive after a while, particularly with the constant thumping bass.
But there’s something thrilling about hearing a musician who’s been a mainstay in Australian pop for so long go his own way, with little care for others’ expectations. There’s a real sense of hard-won independence on this record, a sense of personal liberation, that’s a joy to bear witness to.
- Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen
The Sydney Morning Herald
What to listen to this month: Former Savage Garden frontman’s defiant return
Annabel Ross and Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen
September 30, 2022 — 5.30am
Darren Hayes, Homosexual
★★★½
Darren Hayes’ first solo record in more than a decade is an act of emancipation. On his fifth album Homosexual, the former Savage Garden frontman reclaims the word and his identity as a gay man, delving deep into his psyche and memories. There’s defiance on these songs, a middle finger to those who have kept him down until now, and a naked, unabashed sensuality intertwined with a sense of freedom after being subjected to the homophobia and pressures of the music industry for decades.
Darren Hayes first solo album in more than a decade is Homosexual. SUPPLIED
That freedom is also shown in Hayes’ disregard for the conventions of mainstream pop music – most of these synth-driven tracks race past the five-minute mark, with some pushing closer to 10. Homosexual is Hayes doing music on his own terms – the musician took the helm on every aspect of this record, from composition and performance to production and arrangement. Everything is exactly as he envisions it – this is a world all his own.
Harking back to the Savage Garden days, Hayes has always been a master of melody, with a real knack for an earworm chorus. That remains here, but there’s a bolder sense of experimentation alongside it – these songs are more esoteric than the ballads casual listeners might expect from the man who wrote some of the most romantic songs of the 1990s.
Take the dark, nine-minute Hey Matt, which sees Hayes adopt a lower vocal register to address an alter ego whose desires he’s suppressing: “my daddy issues still ache / but they’re just so heavy I think I’ll leave them here for someone else to claim.” His vocals jump to the other end of the spectrum with the glittery Music Video, almost cartoonish in pitch, as he name-drops primary school classmates, and himself, to unpack very early memories of difference, and an escape through pop culture: Pat Benatar, Michael Jackson and Back to the Future all get hat-tips. Hayes’ famous falsetto is front and centre on the slower number Poison Blood, exploring his family history of mental illness. The musician’s range is impressive and on full display.
Then, to the other side – a fully formed adult, now 50, who carries the scars of these years, but has come into his own. It’s all in the joyousness of the title track, which is split into two acts. There’s an audible relief in these songs, which are designed for the dance floor: all pulsing rhythms, heavy bass and shimmering, echoing reverb.
But there’s still some sorrow in the present-day songs, including the bittersweet eight-minute single All You Pretty Things, which pays tribute to the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. Adopting elements of disco, it’s laid thick with grooves to rival Kylie and embraces the communal joy of the queer club. It highlights the importance of creating safe physical and emotional spaces for queer people, as he sings: “we’ve got to dance to remember them.”
Some of these tracks can veer towards the cheesy, both in sound and content, and there are some less compelling points – see the unnecessary autotune and speak-singing on Euphoric Equation, which is more musically than vocally successful. A record like this tipping over the one-hour mark does mean it begins to get repetitive after a while, particularly with the constant thumping bass.
But there’s something thrilling about hearing a musician who’s been a mainstay in Australian pop for so long go his own way, with little care for others’ expectations. There’s a real sense of hard-won independence on this record, a sense of personal liberation, that’s a joy to bear witness to.
- Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen
Island
Staff member
His podcast episodes with Chart Beats AU are out:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podca...affirmation-spin/id1607719313?i=1000580364599
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podca...-tension-and-the/id1607719313?i=1000581326289
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podca...affirmation-spin/id1607719313?i=1000580364599
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podca...-tension-and-the/id1607719313?i=1000581326289
5 stars from the Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-...review-homosexual-tracklist-b2196794.html?amp
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-...review-homosexual-tracklist-b2196794.html?amp
I feel perhaps the reviewer isn’t a massive fan and has confused Black out the Sun from his last album with a Savage Garden song?
He/him
Did you guys know about this "scandalous" picture that insta took down off his page a few months back? I'm surprised I missed all the scandal!
Also here is a link to the billboard interview
https://www.billboard.com/culture/pride/darren-hayes-interview-homosexual-savage-garden-1235150467/
Looks like a very brief 3 date North American tour is going on Sale October 14th for April 2023!
Also here is a link to the billboard interview
https://www.billboard.com/culture/pride/darren-hayes-interview-homosexual-savage-garden-1235150467/
Looks like a very brief 3 date North American tour is going on Sale October 14th for April 2023!
Her should be doing similarly smaller venues in Australia. He's doing arena shows in Australia and they are selling very poorly.
His Savage Garden hits were a very long time ago, and his solo efforts outside of the UK have never performed well enough for Darren to sell 10,000 tickets per show.
Fingers crossed he will shift a few more tickets now with the upcoming album promo. If the tour was in danger, they would have pulled or downsized by now. He deserves to be playing arenas in his home country again.
OMG what an album. The vibes, musicality, the vocals, the lyrics. All great.
I find the effects on Music Video really cute.
And I like the 2 different grooves of Homosexual. And it's great how some of the songs blend into each other.
I get why Birth isn't on the physical yet this could have been the opener and the end of it (no spoilers) blends well with Let's Try Being In Love. Yet it does give off album close vibes too.
Solid one Darren!
I find the effects on Music Video really cute.
And I like the 2 different grooves of Homosexual. And it's great how some of the songs blend into each other.
I get why Birth isn't on the physical yet this could have been the opener and the end of it (no spoilers) blends well with Let's Try Being In Love. Yet it does give off album close vibes too.
Solid one Darren!
There’s…a lot to take in on this album. Surprisingly Hey Matt is one of my initial favourites despite the run time.