Take away the labels and return to just listening – something about music brings us together, lets us feel the unfelt, speak the unspoken.
Sonic Pulse Project has released a multitude of new albums in the past two years, and has made no secret of the fact that modern production tools have allowed these personally penned songs and stories to come to life in a bright and beautiful way.
The seventh studio album by Sonic Pulse Project, Human Hardware, is something of a philosophical turning point in the releases schedule. The conceptual angle is that of confronting the tension between biology and digital abstraction, and it sees human emotion take precedence – the reality, the grounding and agency of what can be seen and felt. This is done through organic guitar layers, drums, bass, and soulful storytelling, with cinematic stories and catchy, evocative resolves.
State Of Mind is an Americana or driving pop-rock anthem, and a bold but accessible introduction to the depths of Human Hardware. With soaring guitar solos and raspy vocals, the song marks a euphoric first chapter, and leads well into the uplifting and colourful bounce of The Sensible Vision – something like folk rock now guiding through more poetic images from the Sonic Pulse Project songwriting journals.
Distortion and late-night characterisation sees Holly Graham 2.0 take on a new kind of vibe, the lyrics still consumed by this concept-album’s purposeful core. The snappy hook here and the lyrical tie to the theme is brilliantly memorable; a definite quirky highlight from Human Hardware.
Something softer then lets the mind and body relax and contemplate, for a mildly theatrical The Phantom Touch, before Liquid Gold brings a folk-pop optimistic bounce into view, more electronic webs of metaphor, with a hugely anthemic chorus at its peak.
Only eight songs in full, the journey of Human Hardware is specific and concise, the concept held closely to but the musical style diverse and unpredictable. Carbon & Silicon is an electro or dreampop and indie-rock dose of harmony and metaphor, once again united in a rise towards tuneful satisfaction.
Vague but intentional references line the walls of these uplifting modern anthems, blending grassroots songwriting with contemporary design. Sonic Pulse Project reveals that storytelling is key, and the self-explanatory Human Hardware aspect effectively represents the choice to inject a little more implied emotional range.
Manual Mode is an energising pop-rock gem to approach the finish line with, while Biological Grace is perhaps the album’s most creatively fearless offering – a closing track blending orchestral layers with intimate vocals and introspections that are starkly relatable.
The closing song evolves into an immense crescendo of strings, rhythms, bass and vocals, as we reach an evocative peak, within which the programmed elements provide the chord pattern and vibrancy, while the lyrics openly declare the contrast between the wires and the soul.
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