HUE & CRY have surprised all by expanding their sonic palette and going “electro” on their new album ‘Everybody’.

While best known for their sophistipop hits ‘Labour Of Love’ and ‘Looking For Linda’, Pat and Greg Kane have not stood still and embraced the sound of DeepMind arpeggiators, hydrasynths, wavetables and classic drum machines for a rawer aesthetic and an unexpected weirdness.

Much of the writing took place pre-Covid between 2018 and 2020, and with the emotional turbulence he was going through, Pat suggested making an electronic record to Greg, initially referencing David Bowie’s ‘Low’. As well as influences from the earlier phases of SIMPLE MINDS and THE HUMAN LEAGUE, the album also features excursions into Latin House and Future Disco.

Acting as the enticing first single and album opener, ‘Stronger’ is mighty with its message of resilience and hope, all swathed in complex bass sequences, atonal arpeggios and sweeping resonances to “let the softest kind of power make me stronger”. But there’s an even bigger surprise is the frantic Germanic 194 BPM thrust of ‘Everybody Deserves To Be Loved’, the result of experiments with Moogs of the DFAM and Subsequent 37 variety.

The housey ‘Make My Day’ and ‘And Then You Bloom’ both allow Pat to play with his more soulful sensibilities and Greg in his familiar jazzier place, but on the other side of the coin, the synth bassline of ‘In Our Ruins’ recalls DALEK I LOVE YOU’s ‘Two Chameleons’ which OMD used to cover live in their earlier days; it’s a nod to old synth TV theme tunes and the quirkiness exudes its own charm.

‘Force Majeure’ pushes a beat and a pulse with an uplifting musical backdrop despite having something darker going on lyrically while there’s a playful PET SHOP BOYS vibe to ‘Kinda Blue, Kinda Love’. Closing the album, ‘Broken Gods’ utilises more avant sonics in its cutting detuned synth to provide yet another surprise to those who have never listened to a HUE & CRY album before.

Like their contemporaries JOHNNY HATES JAZZ, BLACK and PREFAB SPROUT who applied modern music technology to each of their brands of sophistipop, HUE & CRY’s transition into “electro” is not perhaps not as surprising as first perceived. With its future-facing lyrical subjects that confront powerlessness, polarisation, climate change, authoritarianism and technological overreach, jagged synthesizers and drum machines are the ideal vehicle for these messages where in the world of HUE & CRY, ‘Everybody’ matters…

‘Everybody’ is released on 29th May 2026 as a limited-edition ultimate collector’s box set, CD, vinyl LP and digital download

HUE & CRY 2026 live dates include:
Manchester Bridgewater Hall (9th October)*, London, IndigO2 (10 October)*, Cambridge Corn Exchange (11th October)*, Birmingham Symphony Hall (16th October)*, Gateshead ICM Glasshouse Sage 1 (17th October) **, Inverness, Eden Court (22nd October)**, Aberdeen Music Hall (23 October)**, Edinburgh, Usher Hall (24 October)**, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (30th October)***, Perth Concert Hall (31 October)***

* Co-headline with ROACHFORD
** Special guest: ROACHFORD
*** Special guests: JOHNNY HATES JAZZ

https://hueandcry.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/hueandcry

https://www.instagram.com/hueandcryofficial

https://www.patreon.com/hueandcry

Text by Chi Ming Lai
26th May 2026