aaamusic | On 02, Apr 2013

I know I’ve got a cracker of a single on my capacious hands when, even on a deadline that’s sailed by a while back, I still get carried away listening to it and completely forget that I’m meant to be reviewing it. Such is the case with this, the new single from Sheffield’s very own The Hosts. A slice of retro tinted bliss expertly produced by their city’s resident demi-god Richard Hawley, ‘September Song’ is pretty much a total joy for its four minute and thirty seven second running time. Built on stately piano chords and a tumbling rhythm section, the song manages to find the happy medium between absolute effortlessness and stirring passion, never a moment going by without a heartrending melody or singer Tom Hogg’s timeless vocal performance. Chuck in a quite frankly astonishing middle 8 and you’ve got yourself an absolute stormer of a single. True, in today’s retro indebted musical landscape it might not stand out as much as it should, but that’s where you come in, dear reader, I implore you to check out this single and kick up as much of a fuss as you can about it. A record as gorgeous as this will always deserve it.

★★★★★

Will Howard