A press release describes Routines as “a bittersweet and honest record that sounds both warmly familiar and jarringly distinctive.” The album marks the band’s first sessions in an actual studio, as opposed to the four-track tape machine-assisted recordings in the living rooms and basements that produced the Hoops EP.
The increase in polish one might expect to accompany Hoops’ first foray into the studio is evident in the irresistibly slick “Rules,” which is loaded with the intoxicating guitar lines and murmured melodies we associate with this outfit. The single is a dizzying head rush that clocks in at just over two minutes and will surely have you pressing play several times in a sitting.
Lo-fi Indiana four-piece band Hoops have blown up over the past two years thanks to a healthy heaping of blogosphere buzz. They’re one of those bands heading to SXSW, Austin this year with strong support from thetastemakers, but not a lot of mainstream recognition. Expect that to change sooner rather than later.
Hoops is…
Drew Auscherman
James Harris
Keagan Beresford
Kevin Krauter
The Fat Angel Sings 