Hymns: Ancient and Modern is not a collection of religious sermons, but an indie-pop blast from the past, a collection of songs from the late 80s/early 90s Liverpool-based band Hellfire Sermons. I can't offer a dissertation on the group's importance, on how they should be better-known, as until now I wasn't familiar with them at all. So I'm playing catch-up, enjoying their songs while figuring out their backstory. Hellfire Sermons released a series of two-song 7" singles on various indie labels at that time, but never a full-length album.
All of those 7" songs are here, along with compilation tracks and some other songs. Sweet and tuneful, these songs have a wit and friendliness reminiscent of many of the bright lights in today's pop world (The Lucksmiths often seem like a pertinent modern-day touchpoint). With both an upward-moving tone of optimism and a inward-looking melancholy air, these 19 songs aim at your heart and at the part of you that likes to sing in the shower.
Dave Heaton - from Erasing Clouds