Darren Hayes - Homosexual

WhereIsTheFeeling

WhereIsTheFeeling

I took a listen over the weekend… I like it. I’m not a stan as such but have all of his albums and The Tension & The Spark is one of my all time favourites despite normally radiating towards the more upbeat/fun side of the pop spectrum.

The way I see it is Darren is an artist. He NEEDED to make this album to convey his feelings and address a whole area of his life he suppressed for so long. He is not aiming to be back at the top of the charts but he does want recognition for the blood sweat and tears in producing this body of work.

For me the only challenge is the length of some of the tracks - but that is down to my own lack of focus right now. The singles and Hey Matt are my instant go to’s …. But I can see this album being a real grower and will have heavy rotation this winter. I’m proud he has felt compelled to make music again on his own terms and can’t wait to see him live next year for the first time.
 
Macsun

Macsun

Does it get better?! I couldn’t get past the first two tracks..
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Coochi

Coochi

My feelings on this so far are a bit mixed... I'm a huge fan of Darren Hayes (Affirmation, The Tension and the Spark and This Delicate Thing We've Made might possibly all appear in a list of my top 10 albums of all time... certainly my top 20) but something about this just hasn't quite clicked.

I felt like that a bit with the pre-release singles. On paper, I should have loved them- their "sound" is just my cup of tea, but they just lacked a certain something. I think I said somewhere on here that there were moments on Let's Try Being In Love (which I would say I like overall) where his voice actually sounded a bit unpleasant. And I found the same thing with both Poison Blood and Do You Remember? - sometimes when he drags out the words "blood" and "remember" over a lot of notes it actually sounds a bit unpleasant. I almost don't want to say it because as a long-term fan I love the fact that he created this album entirely by himself, and agree with other comments that it feels like it's something that he needed to do, but I do think it's one of those cases when he could have done with a producer's input.

Additionally, I find there are some songs that aren't clicking overall. It pains me to say it but I hate Music Video. I also find Feel Like It's Over and Poison Blood (excluding the bit where he sings "And it's not that I don't want to live...") just a bit lifeless. On paper, I should love Do You Remember (any song that references Ray of Light should be an easy win!) but in addition to the less pleasant vocals, there are bits that I find awkward ("1990s no cell phones, if you wanted to meet someone you had to leave your home"). I also feel like I should love All You Pretty Things (that subject matter...) but it doesn't quite work for me.

That being said, there are bits I like. A Little Death is the song that comes closest, for me, to the old levels of magic of his music. There's an effortless to the pop hooks of that song that I think is missing elsewhere. That whole section beginning "As time goes by the feelings fade..." is magical - my favourite part of the album - and reminds me of some of the best moments of his other work- e.g. Like It Or Not, Dublin Sky. The instrumental around 3 minutes is lovely, with the synths and the guitar. Love it!

I also really like Hey Matt, there are some great dark and creepy moments but it's simultaneously catchy. I like the two versions of Homosexual (very George Michael, and not just because the structures remind me of I Want Your Sex). I think the balance of light and dark on those two versions of Homosexual are great and there are some great lines in there. I also like Euphoric Equation and Nocturnal Animal (I love the weirdness of that section "You are of your Father...") even if I don't think either is amazing.

Overall, it's a bit hit and miss. I really like some of the songs and there is still a lot to like, but for an album by Darren Hayes I find it a tad underwhelming currently.
 
DaniSpiceBoy

DaniSpiceBoy

During an Instagram Live last night, I congratulated him on the UK midweeks and he responded that for an album that has had ZERO radio support, the result so far was mind blowing and he was super happy. He explained that he hired a radio plugger in the UK but Radio 2 wouldn't playlist All You Pretty Things nor make Homosexual Album of the Week; only one station in Australia playlisted his new songs. He said fair play since he didn't make the album with radio in mind.

When it comes to touring, he explained it was no longer financially viable because the costs since Covid were through the roof and therefore many artists couldn't even afford it. He said hiring a truck for a week used to be 3k and now it had gone up to 7k. Super interesting stuff.
 
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LP-T

LP-T

He/him
He also said that this was not the end of Darren Hayes and that he was officially BACK- so I read that as ... He is back as being a recording and touring artist!

He also mentioned that the three date North American is so small because he has to prove to promoters that he a viable investment.
 
idratherjack

idratherjack

This is a great album, a lot of the album tracks are stronger than the pre-release songs. Initial highlights are A Little Death, Hey Matt, Homosexual (Parts One & Two), Euphoric Equation, Nocturnal Animal and Feels Like It's Over. I love the long running time of this album, you really get submerged in the soundscape that Darren has created with lyrics that I am sure a lot of us can relate to. Some of the songs are giving me Pet Shop Boys which is no bad thing. Contender for album of the year for me.
 
smellycat

smellycat

LPT said:
He also said that this was not the end of Darren Hayes and that he was officially BACK- so I read that as ... He is back as being a recording and touring artist!

He also mentioned that the three date North American is so small because he has to prove to promoters that he a viable investment.
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This has made me so happy. I was worried this would be a big last hurrah for him, especially with mentioning how expensive it all is.

I’m hoping between now and the next album we’ll get vinyl pressings of all his past stuff, including Savage Garden.
 
magictreehouse

magictreehouse

DaniSpiceBoy said:
When it comes to touring, he explained it was no longer financially viable because the costs since Covid were through the roof and therefore many artists couldn't even afford it. He said hiring a truck for a week used to be 3k and now it had gone up to 7k. Super interesting stuff.
Click to expand...
I've seen a few posts from other artists and bands this week that have said exactly the same thing. And when live performance tends to be the area where artists make money this cannot be a good thing.
 
LP-T

LP-T

He/him
smellycat said:
This has made me so happy. I was worried this would be a big last hurrah for him, especially with mentioning how expensive it all is.

I’m hoping between now and the next album we’ll get vinyl pressings of all his past stuff, including Savage Garden.
Click to expand...

He also said in relation to a live recording of this tour (kind of related to your Savage Garden vinyl question... But also not) that "his former band member" will not allow recordings or live streams of songs which they wrote together. He said he was overwhelmed at Homosexual's reception and so didn't want to dwell on it at this time BUT if he really wanted to he could go and make a deal with their publishers.

This is not word for word but it shows what a complete cunt Daniel is being - and for what reason?
 
smellycat

smellycat

LPT said:
He also said in relation to a live recording of this tour (kind of related to your Savage Garden vinyl question... But also not) that "his former band member" will not allow recordings or live streams of songs which they wrote together. He said he was overwhelmed at Homosexual's reception and so didn't want to dwell on it at this time BUT if he really wanted to he could go and make a deal with their publishers.

This is not word for word but it shows what a complete cunt Daniel is being - and for what reason?
Click to expand...

Ugh, that’s so disappointing. I admire Darren’s refusal to properly discuss what happened in their past but it’s really shitty if Daniel is purposely stopping fans from getting updated releases.

I have a glimmer of hope after he said in that podcast that he has a contact at Sony who is looking after their SG material (paraphrasing here as I listened to it a week ago).
 
Ezz

Ezz

Finally getting a chance to play this in full. The transition between Hey Matt and Homosexual (Act 1) is astounding. From a brooding and heavy introspective track to hands up 90s dance (and the latter is screaming for some remixes!). Perfection!
 
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