Thoughtful songs that conjure up the nature of travel.
“Howl for More” is Antony Hurley’s follow-up album to “Quiet Rooms”, which was released in 2022. The songs were written by Hurley on his travels between Southern Italy, Mexico and eventually his native Kent. It has a very languid, serene overall feel to it. The supporting material suggests that the core of the album reflects the fragmentary nature of travel.
The album opens with ‘Awakening’, which is a very enjoyable instrumental with dreamy synths, which sets the mood. This is followed by ‘Dans Song’, which skipping along very pleasantly is as upbeat as the album gets. Hurley’s vocals are very laid back over a nice, comfortable beat. On a number of tracks, he is joined by a female vocalist who is mixed very far back, which gives them an ethereal feel. His writing is shaped by his background as a bookseller and his deep connection with literature. It certainly has that intellectual feel to it. Tracks such as ‘In Parenthesis’ support that bookish premiss.
“Howl for More” certainly isn’t an album that rushes anywhere in a hurry. It travels at its own speed which makes listening properly to it all the more important. It could easily wash over you if you weren’t paying attention, rather like reading a good book; it needs and deserves a level of consideration to get the most out of it.
Hurley’s music is music that is very hard to pigeonhole, sitting as it does very pleasantly between folk and americana with even a hint of pop. The songs evoke contemplative cliff-top walks or lazy days on a sun-kissed beach. They may not make you want to get up and dance, but they may encourage you to sit down and think. Which the way things are currently, may not be such a bad thing.
