- Spring cleaning, emptying out your everyday carry-all, digging around a box not yet unpacked from a recent move – all these regular activities come to mind while listening to these fourteen tracks from Hearteyes, a debut project from Sydney producer & songwriter Maurice Santiago. Previously known for his melodic '90's house sounds as George Michelle and the brooding, post-punk Death Bells, Hearteyes is the equivalent to a clean-out of the cupboard and finding unexpected bits and pieces that could be brought together to make something useful.
Overall, its a mixed bag, as could be expected from a project that was recorded over four years, three cities (Sydney, Los Angeles, Berlin) and several collaborators. How one track follows a certain genre is not an indication that the next track will continue in that vein. This can make for disconcerting listening, though if it is approached as the title of the collection says –as a Mixtape– then the sudden jumps in tempo and style won’t be as disjointed.
Nothing here is longer than four minutes (save for Show Me The Backroom which blows out to around six), some barely scrape up to the two minute mark and the collaborators are a blend of dreamy synth pop vocal, such as Asta on the opening track Not Innocent through to the deep and brooding drum & bass style on the aforementioned Show Me The Backroom complemented by a poetic stream of consciousness narration provide by Greta (no, not THAT Greta, this Greta has an unmistakable Australian accent as “…an angel in disguise, wearing wigs and telling lies…”).
There are a few quirky pieces: I Feel Weird seems to sample the hand-claps from Close To Me by The Cure (and I’m sure Robert Smith would approve of the use of the word “weird”) and Bounce On It featuring Babiboi has the predictable sound of the ghetto running through it and coming a third of the way through the collection it’s a jarring surprise, considering the varieties of pop that have preceded it.
Santiago seems happiest playing with 21st century pop styles, thr333 pills and A Danger To Myself are very close to Adam Young’s Owl City project with the breathy, sweet-toned male vocal, and the final track Recovery (Diamonds In My Teeth) featuring Byron Bay singer Hugo Costin, which is its own curiosity, mixing between demo-sounding vocal and acoustic guitar line and the fully produced sound that opens the track. Elsewhere FWU featuring girlcrush wanders the autotuned landscape with a hint of Ariane Grande and Nosebleed (The Water) featuring Olive Rush has the vibe of The Weeknd and throughout several tracks on the collection, the sounds of two of Australia’s best pop bands, Client Liaison and Cub Sport, shine through.
Like anything that is a collection of odds and ends there is a bit of unevenness and perhaps the more melodic, pop themed pieces hang together better. Seeing what else Santiago can do does make this fourteen-track mixtape a show-reel of sorts, and he’s worth keeping tabs on as the next decade gets underway.
- Blair Martin.