Hail Social - Modern Love and Death

Hail Social
Modern Love and Death
(Self-Released)

The cover of Hail Social’s self-released second full length Modern Love and Death resembles something from the age of Atari and Lite Brite; an intriguing, brightly colored font set against a dark backdrop that the music within. Their songs sound dated and almost campy, but with each listen my interest grew to the point where I would wake up with the songs stuck in my head and have to listen to them as soon as I got in the shower. I’d play Modern Love and Death for friends and without fail they’d laugh a little at lines like, “All night, we can listen to the radio (all night),” but after some silence would ask, “Who is this? They’re pretty fucking good.” And they are pretty fucking good. The key to Hail Social’s fusion of vibrant synth-pop, droning indie rock and 70’s am radio is their natural ability to make over-the-top things like falsetto vocals, vocoders and exuberant lyrics about “being a modern man” seem cool without being ironic or a mere throwback. (SK)