The Concretes - Hey Trouble Album Review

The Concretes
Hey Trouble
Album Review

There were a lot of people who were pretty unhappy that The Concretes seemed to come to the end of their journey last year when lead singer Victoria Bergsman quit the band after a tour in which they had all their instruments stolen in New York and she collapsed in Boston. But, the remaining 7 band members, following a drunken evening and references to Fleetwood Mac's resurrection, decided to carry on, with drummer Lisa Milberg stepping into the lead vocalist role. Are they the same band without their iconic lead singer? Unfortunately, they're not.

A lot of the music on Hey Trouble is really pretty ordinary synth-pop, and the vocals now may be the weakest part of the mix. There are highlights - A Whale's Heart, Oh Boy, Firewatch. This is a band which, rather than try to emulate who they used to be, need to move on and embrace who they are now. There are a few moments here where they sound more Human League than is good for any band.

Rating 6/10

Mike Rea