Review of Harper n Hubble music's Academic Life release

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​Harper n Hubble music are Paul Harper and Andy Hubble. They previously worked together teaching Music Technology in Further and Higher Education at Sandwell College in the West Midlands. They met up again and now combine their ideas to produce music. Paul writes music and lyrics as well as providing lyrics for Andy’s instrumental tracks with Andy concentrating on the production. 

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Their latest (4th) release “Academic Life” includes tracks from Andy's 2016 Relax Listen album “With Friends'' which Paul heavily contributed towards. These tracks have been altered and re-recorded from their original versions or remixed or remastered, It also features 3 more tracks with lyrics written by John Dietrich.


Here are my own personal interpretations and highlights from this album:

Track 1, Academic Life - has a middle Eastern introduction and ending which gives it a nice twist. It is the opening and also the title track which cleverly gives a nod to Andy and Paul’s previous careers in education. It is very original.

Track 5. Falling for you - is a very moving song about falling for someone who is unobtainable. Paul’s heartfelt singing of the lyrics on this particular song bring a tear to the eye.

Track 7. What to do - is another highlight for me which ties in perfectly from “Falling for you”. I am not normally a fan of ballads but this does have genuinely beautiful lyrics about secretly being in love and the happy feeling being around this person creates. My only disappointment here is when the track fades out as I would like to hear more of it as it is so moving!

Track 9. Beauty Queen at 17 - is a clever song which tells a story right from the beginning of the Beauty Queens career.

Track 10. Lovers not friends and track 13, West End Hotel are an interesting contradiction to Falling for you and What to do as they are more about being involved with someone who isn’t right, especially in the case of “West End Hotel” as it is about meeting up for an affair.

My most original and enjoyable song on this album is Track 11, Yesterday's News. It is a lively, witty observational track which I feel could be about rich, shallow people judging the news as if they could do any better. It has a pleasant Beatles style feel to it musically too.

I do recommend listening to this album a few times to really appreciate the contradictions and intelligence in it.

The album Academic Life is available on download release from 24th February 2023. The songs that were original versions on the Relax Listen “With Friends” album are still available to download from iTunes and Amazon as well as other download sites. For further information head to www.harperhubble.com 

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