Australian one-man wrecking machine/musican/songwriter known as Harts is a bright light in the future of music, and an artist who understands the musical concepts that made those greats who came before him such incredible songwriters. It’s rare to find such a young artist who knows exactly how he wants his musical voice to sound. His sound could be described as new-age disco or pop alt-rock. Whatever label you want to put on him (go ahead and try) that doesn’t change the fact that his eclectic array of styles and influences he uses as building blocks for his compositions are that of true understanding and appreciation for musical history. Apparently Prince himself even brought the young squire up to Minnesota to jam and record with him at Paisley Park Studios. Not bad company to be working song ideas with if I may say so myself.
Like any guitarist who truly understands their craft, Harts shows you don’t need loads of distortion, epic solos, or constant presence for that matter for a great guitar song to be complete. His compositions are based around melodic components with bass lines and keyboards to go along with precisely timed rhythm. His guitar fills and simplistic solos are almost the finishing touch on an already well defined piece of art. Yes, musicianship and knowledge of the craft is important, but what sets Harts aside from the rest is his established knowledge of production and putting the song pieces together to make his music sonic perfection.
I recently acquired some of the tracks from his upcoming album, and as I listened I couldn’t help but be taken in by how well he makes genres like disco, funk, and new wave rock so relevant and fresh sounding. The first song on the album, Red and Blue is something like Gary Clark Jr’s vocals, Hendrix’s fiery guitar licks, and hip-hop beat only Questlove could dish out. The songs to follow mellow out as far as loud and heavy guitar goes, but that doesn’t mean the songs slow down. A few singles off the upcoming album have already been released, including ‘Leavn It All Behind’, ‘Lovers In Bloom’, and ‘Angels Walk Below’. I highly recommend you give them a listen and be on the watch for when his album hits the shelves!
Article by: Tom Shackleford
