Unless you’ve been living under a rock or not watching a lot of news, you already know that Hanson is coming.
What you may not know is how close they are coming – yep the Coolangatta Hotel have enticed the once cuter than cute Hanson brothers to the Gold Coast Tweed.
The trio, who have now been making music together for close to two decades and yet are still so shy of 40 it’s not funny, will play the Coolie, September 21 (and you thought that Aqua and the Venga Boys were the big 90s revival bands for this year?).
Tickets go on sale next Thursday (although there was a presale from 9am this morning if you really need your Hanson fix – and let’s face it, lots of people will.
While some look down their noses at the teen sensations of yester-year Isaac, Zac and Taylor Hanson are household names in Australia and it’s no surprise. In 1997, one in ten Australian households owned a copy of the band’s smash album Middle Of Nowhere and the nation’s airwaves, hearts and minds resonated to the infectious sound of the band’s pop smash MMMBop.
Now after a seven-year absence, Hanson is coming back to Australia with a brand new album and tour that is sure to capture the attention and imagination of a nation that has always embraced the band as their own.
Fifteen years ago, their out-of-the-blue, soul-inspired brand of American pop-rock ’n’roll was introduced to the world.
Unaffected by charts or fads, they’ve spent more than a decade building a community of fans connected to one another and fuelled by the energy and craftsmanship of three brothers and their music.
On their fifth studio album, Shout It Out, they deliver a powerful group of soulful, melodic tunes that will leave you with a contagious sense of optimism for the future and welcomed reminiscence for American rock ’n’ roll.
Yep this is more than just a one-hit-wonder sensation, these guys have always known their way around instruments and it’s perhaps a shame that their biggest hit was so big and so poppy.
HANSON emotes such fresh energy on the new album that it’s easy to forget that this band has been around the block a few times.
Multiple Grammy nominations (drummer Zac is the youngest nominated songwriter in history), years of headline shows everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl and world-records for the loudest concert audience in history.
Shout It Out is a collection of finely crafted, R&B-flavoured pop-rock, a homage to the music that inspired HANSON when they started out.
The album, produced and written exclusively by the band, is augmented with special guests: Funk Brothers bassist Bob Babbitt, who played on some of Motown’s greatest hits, and horn arranger Jerry Hey, who worked with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Earth, Wind and Fire and many more.
Shout It Out showcases not only the music of HANSON, but the many aspects that have allowed the band to survive and stay relevant.
“The album is about being alive, and the contrasts we are faced with,” Taylor said.
“We’ve come from a generation leaving the analog world and moving into an interconnected culture at risk of forgetting where it came from. This album tries to put together those pieces, but with a bit of melody to back it up.”
