Ten Fé - Hit the Light

The Guardian 80

(Some Kinda Love)

London-based duo Ben Moorhouse and Leo Duncan, AKA Ten Fé, are fresh-faced enough to pull off beards and long hair without looking as if they’ve been sleeping in an alley, but musically they’re indebted to much earlier generations. Madchester and Springsteen have left their mark on Hit the Light, to the point that it’s hard to identify what Ten Fé themselves bring to the party. Perhaps it’s the deftness with which they blend it all together. Each member sings lead on his own compositions, but Ten Fé are strongest when dreamily harmonising – as on the Malibu-sunset glow of Elodie – or seamlessly joining celebratory 90s bagginess and 80s rock majesty in anthem-to-be Twist Your Arm. In the most heartening sense, it speaks to the current lack of boundaries between genres, and if there are intriguing hints of drama (“I have to twist your arm to hold your arm”), that’s just another reason to listen.

Thu Feb 02 22:15:42 GMT 2017

The Guardian 60

(Some Kinda Love/Pias)

Krautrock, synthpop, gaseous MOR: common enough influences, but London duo Ten Fé rise above the throng by virtue of a strong voice (here, the two strong voices of Ben Moorhouse and Leo Duncan, dual singer-songwriters) and sparkling songcraft. With the aid of M83 and the Rapture producer Ewan Pearson, their debut album embraces a variety of styles within its consistent aesthetic: Make Me Better has an urgent rock pomp, complete with Zeppy strings, while Turn indulges in Hall and Oates atmospherics and Twist Your Arm mines a more Screamadelica vibe. Ten Fé is Spanish for “have faith”; a chance taken on these two would indeed be well rewarded.

Sun Feb 05 08:00:08 GMT 2017