At the end of last month, the Australian band Cut Copy released its fifth studio album: Haiku From Zero.

Listen to the full album here!

Since 2001, the four members have been making their mark on the indie-electronic style. Founding member Dan Whitford has claimed to be “inspired by indie low-fi stuff ass much as dance” and Haiku From Zero seamlessly blends the two feels.

The album opens up with the cute melodic tune of “Standing in the Middle of a Field.” The bubbly number was teased out as a single prior to the official release. It doesn’t transition as smoothly into the following track as I would’ve liked, but “Counting Down” gives listeners a soothing sort of retro sound that’s easy enough on the ears to disregard the choppy space between the two. Its guitar chords combined with funky synths towards the end give this piece a moderately psychedelic feel.

The fast initial tempo of “Black Rainbows” starts this track off with a bang and has me ready to get my groove on. The prominent bassline throughout the song really stands out each time I listen to it. The guitar solo directly into light harp strumming towards the end is empowers you and tugs those musical heartstrings all at once.

Up next is “Stars Last Me A Lifetime.” The production behind the chorus is beautiful, but the meaning behind lyrics are a little unclear to me. I’m confused on what message the vocalist was trying to send through this one. Essentially t’s up to listeners to decide.

“Airborne” was released this Summer before the entire album as well. The bassline and sampled dripping noises coexist fluidly and have me feeling relaxed. This is more of a ‘kick back and listen’ song than a ‘get up and dance’ one in my opinion. “It’s just that I’m dreaming of somewhere else,” to me I think he wants to get airborne by escaping his life and starting new. The repetition of this phrase says to me that this is one of the overarching themes of Haiku From Zero. He is constantly stuck on the idea of a different life. Thinking of this gives the entire album a nostalgic vibe from here on out.

As Cut Copy is infamous for their 80’s vibe, “No Fixed Destination” reminds me of The Smiths for some reason. The title of this goes along with my idea that this album revolves around a theme of escaping to completely new beginnings.

“Memories We Share” sounds more electronic than indie, which gives the album a true balance. Its bassline anchors down the indie-rock style that Cut Copy is famous for implementing. In “Living Upside Down” Whitford gives us the powerful words “Keep Moving No Slowing Down” in a hypnotic and a tad inspirational way. This is the type of song I would play on a Monday morning to get me pumped for the week to come. Upbeat, but not too hyped. I wasn’t a fan of the final song, “Tied To The Weather,” as there wasn’t much of a distinct melody but the rest of the album made up for a weak ending.

All in all, Haiku From Zero is definitely worth a listen. Cut Copy is touring the United States until the end of fall. Check out the tour page of their website to see if you can catch them in a city near you.

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