Hockey : 'Learn To Lose'
Released: 1st June 2009
Label: Virgin Records
Hockey, a strange one this lot and the jury is very much still out on them. I feel like I should like them, even that I’m supposed to like them. They have all the right melodies, the catchy, hook laden vocals and the complementary synth that every band and his dog has these days. The song is a short, sharp blast of summer pop music that hits all the right boxes and, as such, will no doubt go on to be an incredibly successful summer hit, cementing Hockey’s place in the indie scene as a major player.
This is, of course, all a big “should”, as I myself find all of the above true, but it still leaves me a little cold. It is as though they quite literally had a series of boxes to tick, supposedly representing all the key elements of a indie-pop hit and went through each one methodically, thus taking out the heart and inspiration of the song writing. It is this, which leaves me decidedly unimpressed by what is sure to be quite a popular song. And so I can't help thinking it may leave everyone else feeling as though they have been fed another mechanical indie group churned out by an industry a year or two behind tastemakers.
Time, as they say, will tell.
Words: James Hoste
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