Passion-tinged lyrics slash through the darkness as “Milky Way Rising,” the new single by Hourstone featuring the enticing Amanda Kang at lead vocal, get started. While simply designed with the basic goal of giving us a righteous opportunity to sing along to this sleekly appointed techno-pop gem, there’s nothing ordinary about this poetic experience, nor the concept from which it sources its narrative. Joined by Kang, Hourstone issues one of his most balladic dance jams so far in “Milky Way Rising,” and continues to establish himself as one of the most reliable players in the genre with yet another indie smash.
URL: https://hourstonemusic.com/
Hourstone has evolved so much as an artist in the last few years specifically, and anyone who has been keeping up with his professional journey will instantly recognize his growth here in even the most cursory of listens. He seems so relaxed, confident, and in his element in “Milky Way Rising,” and to some extent, more in tune with his organic artistry than he has ever been in the past. Through the direction of Amanda Kang, he drives home one of the most elaborate harmonies of the season in this track, all while making it look effortlessly easy from beginning to end.
The beats here are pretty aggressive, but the rhythm itself is very smooth and unassuming when compared to the direct nature of the vocal track. When juxtaposed, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to hear the difference in tempo between the instrumentation and Kang’s urban croon, but thanks to the evenly distributed melody created by the synthesizer in the background, the song never descends into complete discord and chaos. “Milky Way Rising” is compositionally as multidimensional as what one would expect to find in a classical symphony, and it exploits the diverse tonality of its guest singer beautifully.
I like the way that this track was mixed, and while riddled with eccentricities that are reminiscent more of a club sound than anything streamlined in pop, there’s nothing overindulgent here to smother the finer points in the song in needless frills. The texture of the music is preserved to give us the same chill-inducing experience that we would have when seeing Hourstone and Amanda Kang live in concert, and listening to this single makes me wonder how much of this magic translates to the stage environment. Honestly, if even a fraction of the dynamic presence Hourstone and Kang share were to carry over to a live setting, theirs would be a show that I wouldn’t want to miss out on.
2024 has brought some intriguing indie pop and electronica to my desk thus far, but “Milky Way Rising” is unquestionably among the cream of the crop. Hourstone and Amanda Kang are a match made in heaven in this song, and I hope that it doesn’t mark the last time that they share the studio. Based on the strength of this material, they could easily produce an entire album of striking tracks as a collaborative duo, but for the time being, this single is definitely among the sharpest work that either artist has delivered to date.
Garth Thomas