Project Description
For some artists, the spark for a record comes from a chord or a lyric. For Heartour’s Jason Young, it started with an image: Three album covers sketched in a notebook before a single bar had been written.
This approach is not unusual for Young, who has always looked to eclectic visuals to inspire his music. Growing up in small town Connecticut, just an hour away from the lights and the glamour of New York City, it was the visuals of the city and the riot of colors and sounds that sparked his initial journey into music. Eventually, that lure drew Young not only to the city, but also into indie pop band The Ruse.
From there the ideas in that notebook began to take shape, away from the rock stylings of his day job with The Ruse to the more eccentric kaleidoscopic synth that became Heartour. A trip through electric dream pop guided by an artist beginning to see the upside of isolation.
Similar Artists: Tame Impala, COIN, Wild Nothing
News
RELEASES
“Refill the Fountain”
Release Date: February 24
“extra prolific” – Last Day Deaf
The single due out Feb 24, was born out of a cross-genre experiment where Heartour’s Jason Young populated the studio with 80’s video game synth sounds. It’s off the album, R U IN, mixed by Tony Hoffer (Metric, Beck & M83) and due out later this year.
Synths pinball into an arcade induced carnival ride, ricocheting off syncopated drum beats. The retro Atari-esque keystrokes energetically punctuate each stanza, creating a seamless fusion of modern flashback sound. The song plunges a shiny new quarter into a buzzing arcade game and ignites a dreamlike landscape of glowing neon colors and liquid pools oozing from a Moog drenched fountain.
“Brain”
Release Date: April 13
“‘Brain’ offers up some empathy wrapped in glowing neon.” – Cool Dad Music
Heartour announces the release of the upcoming single, “Brain”, providing both empathy and relief amongst the COVID-19 crisis. The song exposes the overwhelming unrest of anxiety with a holistic surge of endorphins cast in a buzzing neon glow. The single, due out April 13, is off the album, R U IN, and was mixed by Tony Hoffer (Metric, Beck, & M83).
“Let the Robots Drive”
Release Date: May 11, 2020
“it soaks into your senses in a way you’re not likely to expect” – B-Sides & Badlands
The single guides us through a haunting dystopian landscape, asking the question, “What if?” The lines of reality and uncertainty blur as the synth-driven sounds smolder and burn.
“Let the Robots Drive” illuminates a future that seems closer now than ever before. Just like a scene out of Bladerunner or The Matrix, its robotic overtones question if the human race is on a one-way trip to losing control to artificial intelligence ruling our lives. Jason Young opens the song, “Soak it in through your eyes/ You’re never going to quite see it like this again/ Soak it in through your ears / You’re never going to quite hear it like this again.” “Let the Robots Drive” combines a flourishing melody with chrome-plated chord changes synthesizing into a steady beat. The result is a dusk-inspired soundtrack visioning a desert drive to escape, if only for one more night.
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Bio
For some artists, the spark for a record comes from a chord or a lyric. For Heartour’s Jason Young, it started with an image: Three album covers sketched in a notebook before a single bar had been written.
This approach is not unusual for Young, who has always looked to eclectic visuals to inspire his music. Growing up in small town Connecticut, just an hour away from the lights and the glamour of New York City, it was the visuals of the city and the riot of colors and sounds that sparked his initial journey into music. Eventually, that lure drew Young not only to the city, but also into indie pop band The Ruse.
"glittering synth-washed sounds comparable to M83 and Chromatics"
"full of whimsical and feel-good melodies, touched with just a bit of wistfulness and wonder" (2019)
"Young’s powerful but silky vocals rise over an amalgam of heavy synths, creating a unique scape as if meant to simultaneously hypnotize and pump up a festival full of people." (2019)
"extra prolific"
"a jolt of energy and joy in form of a grand, arpeggio-heavy synth-pop track, ideal to break out of any mental deadlock."
"The listener is completely consumed, and the track is compellingly danceable, not to mention eminently radio-ready and streamworthy."