Melbourne sextet The Hello Morning have established themselves as a talent of prodigious proportions with those in the know.
In 2011 the band’s earthy, earnest blues sound earned their self-titled debut a glowing review from New Musical Express. Two years on, Tie That Binds EP bristles with the pent-up energy of Springsteen and the rugged warmth of 70s style guitar, and sees the group set free a handful of cracking tracks.
Brilliance is all bound up in “Tie That Binds”, a wonderfully rollicking rock number whose soaring guitars and yearning vocals are perfectly tempered by a reliably driving drumbeat.
Eloquent, expressive, and powerfully tangible, the track brims with an energy that encapsulates The Hello Morning’s rich sound.
“Stay Awake”’s heartfelt longing is underscored by cavernous, crashing drums. It’s a powerful song that conjures images of deserted open roads, and the feeling of sweeping, searching abandon.
The band’s versatility is beautifully demonstrated on slow-burner “The Closer”. Co-frontman Steven Clifford’s voice stretches with whiskey-and-blues soaked sorrow as he laments Age doesn’t make you smarter/just gives more time to regret.
A slowed-down cover of “Jackson” rounds out the record and allows guest vocalist Ali Barter’s voice to shine.
It may clock in at only four songs, but the brevity of the EP makes its impact no less poignant.
Tie That Binds is an EP whose precise musicianship and lyrical depth of feeling speaks to both the heart and the head, and leaves no doubt that The Hello Morning are a group of rare and remarkable promise.
