Ian Burden is a composer and keyboard player that was a member of the 80’s band Human League. Burden co-wrote “Do or Die,” “The Sound Of The Crowd” and “Love Action” on the Dare album, as well as others, but over the last thirty years he has been kept a low profile. Hey Hey Ho Hum, Burden’s second solo album, finds the keyboardist writing, singing, producing and recording on the album. Hey Hey Ho Hum is a concept album, presented as suite of music with recurring themes and motifs throughout the project. The programming and synths sounds on the album are outstanding with warmth and intimacy that is seldom heard on an electronic based album. There are plenty of layers to Burden’s music and his lyrics and soft singing draw the listener in, for the attentive listener each new listen will bring new discoveries. That’s the short of it!
Positives:
An excellent musical suite that should be enjoyed from start to finish to fully understand the concept of the project. Burden is a master at production and all the instruments and sounds are natural and warm.
Bottom Line:
Ian Burden’s Hey Hey Ho Hum is a thematic adventure in the possibilities of sounds that can be generated by human and machine. The album is synth based with intelligent lyrics and compositional flow. If you liked 80’s synth-pop music, you will love Hey Hey Ho Hum! Burden’s wizardry of composition and production adroitness create interesting sounds from a diverse set of instruments and electronics, the album is fascinating and a satisfying journey.