blue wonder power milk

hooverphonic

sbme special markets, 1998

Mood—spacey and fun.

Sample: "Renaissance"

Thoughts— If you can remember where you were when you first heard a piece of music, it's likely that song was either really good or really bad.

I had recently moved to Baltimore and was in an art store (called, I believe, "The Art Store") with a co-worker when "Battersea" came on the in-store music system. I was floored, and ran over to the clerk to ask "who is this".

"Hooverphonic, they were just in town last night." Kay and I went back to the office, and at lunch I ran out to a record store and picked up Blue Wonder Power Milk. It has been a favorite ever since.

"Battersea" opens the album with a bang. It is the best song on the album by a mile, but luckily all the other songs are excellent. On one hand it's the perfect album opener. It is moving, fast-paced, and beautiful. On the other hand it sets the bar very high for the songs that follow. While none of the other songs capture the magic of "Battersea" they hold their own.

Hooverphonic has been called a trip-hop band, but I don't know what that means. They are from Belgium, but many of the songs have a sort of California beach vibe. There are horns, there are strings, there are big reverby beats.

I finally got to see Hooverphonic years later, in Denver. They opened for BT, who I had not heard of at the time. That's right, I went just to see the opener. Luckily for me, BT was incredible, so I found a new artist by going to see an old favorite.

Recommended? I highly suggest you pick this one up.

Link—hooverphonic.com

Tracklist
1. Battersea
2. One Way Ride
3. Dictionary
4. Club Montepulciano
5. Eden
6. Electro Shock Faders
7. Lung
8. Out of Time
9. This Strange Effect
10. Renaissance
11. Tuna
12. Magenta
13. Blue Wonder Power Milk