Barcelona is a city of masterpieces. The Sagrada Familia – though unfinished – is perhaps the most incredibly designed cathedral in the world. A museum dedicated to Salvador Dali showcases some of the best artwork that may ever be produced. They even have a football team who can often only be described with the word “beautiful”. Now, it seems, the city aspires towards new musical success as well, introducing the world to the dreamy, synth-focused outfit of Stand Up Against Heart Crime.
The Barcelona-based band are relatively new on the scene, having originally been a solo project of vocalist Josep Xortó before Arnau Obiols, Miky Mestres and Jordi Moraleda were recruited to bring the band together in the form it is today. The music is tailored for worldwide appreciation and easily accessible as well – artists such as the Killers have kick-started a synthpop revival of sorts, and Stand Up Against Heart Crime play into this well with a retro yet polished sound, setting themselves up almost as an arbiter between the two eras. ‘Strong’, the penultimate track on their self-titled 2011 EP, is a light and bouncy nod to both the old and the new, managing to stay both upbeat and laid-back simultaneously, while keeping itself as atmospheric as the other tracks that make the EP such a promising start for the Spanish four-piece.
Above everything else, there is a minimalist charm to Stand Up Against Heart Crime. The music is a chilled out reminder that the ‘80s still live on, emulated superbly in bands such as this. There is a major revival bubbling under the surface of mainstream music right now, and international acts such as Stand Up Against Heart Crime could be the ones to thrust it back into the spotlight.
http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=3483462764/size=grande3/bgcol=e2e2e2/linkcol=4285BB/
Stand Up Against Heart Crime’s new single ‘Standing Outside’ is out now, and they’ve got a new album out at the end of November.
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