HURRAH!
AN ELECTRONIC PRESS KIT!
about AN/ANIMAL
Coming January 2022
New York City-born, Twin Cities-based indie rock band Hurrah A Bolt of Light is a living portfolio documenting the constant evolution of its main songwriter, Wil Farr. Whether it’s sound, format, or home base, change is considered fundamental to Hurrah’s creative process.
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To date, Hurrah has released two full length albums and numerous singles. Its previous album was a shiny, pop album recorded in LA. Its latest release retains Hurrah’s penchant for hooks, but does so in a darkly alluring context that subverts all pop conventions. AN/ANIMAL, out January 2022, is Hurrah’s long-awaited “visual album.” It’s an ambitious artistic offering that pairs a 16-minute piece of music to be released in four movements with a stunning long-form video. AN/ANIMAL is an immersive experience brimming with haunting visuals, abstract and emotionally evocative lyrics, and a mesmerizing swampy sensibility.
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Wil is the sonic curator of Hurrah, and he is a multi-instrumentalist with a rock background and an affinity for abstract soundscapes. He started Hurrah over a decade ago in New York City, but Wil relocated the project to Minneapolis, Minnesota, believing the vibrant music scene there would be the perfect place to start the project’s next phase. Wil’s work seeks to balance artistic fearlessness and creative wanderlust with a reverence for pop music.
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“I’m interested in evoking feelings with my music,” Wil shares. “Young-adult science fiction had a profound effect on me. The stories weren’t always very clear, but they brought forth strong emotions. That approach really influenced me.”
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Hurrah’s music has been favorably described as “pop music for sad people.” It’s an aptly broad description that fits Wil’s restless creativity which defies genres, though Wil’s songwriting has drawn comparisons to Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Modest Mouse, and Kings of Leon. Hurrah has earned critical accolades from such outlets as The Deli Magazine, BreakThru Radio, Time Out New York, QRO, and Radio Free Chicago. Live Hurrah, is frenetic and sweat-soaked with Wil as the lightning-rod epicenter, leading his ensemble through a catalog of songs that feel instantly familiar and anthemic.
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Hurrah tracks are artfully impressionistic, making them well-suited to visual placements. Songs have been featured on shows such as Teen Mom (MTV), The Voice (NBC), Last Call With Carson Daly (NBC), Baseball Tonight (ESPN), Counting Cars (History Channel), and Nate Berkus Show (TLC), among many others. In addition, Hurrah tracks have been featured on networks such as IFC, OWN, Logo, Animal Planet, Nat Geo, and the Discovery Channel.
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AN/ANIMAL presents its audience with four songs strung into one narrative, made complete by the eerie visuals of its accompanying short film. Fans are invited to consume AN/ANIMAL in its entirety or in pieces. The music features imaginative arrangements, ethereal to explosive dynamics, primal urgency, deceptively catchy hooks, and elements from gospel, indie, rock, prog, country, ambient, and, as always, an infectious pop sensibility. Thematically, the lyrics are poetic, obtuse, and alive with desperation. The single, An/Animal 3, is a wild ride of a composition with gnarly garage-rock guitars, prog-rock instrumental breaks, tense build-ups, bold electronic textures, and moments of breathtaking serene musicality.
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AN/ANIMAL is a stunning DIY feat. Wil played most instruments on the album, and sang the vocals all the way through as if the album was one 16-minute song. Despite having no film experience, Wil wrote, acted in and edited the film, though he is also joined on- and off-screen by a group of talented, enthusiastic film professionals, actors, and friends.
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The movie component documents a man being kidnapped and stuck in an endless loop of horrors. It’s a fantastical, disorienting, and wildly fishtailing epic with cultish overtones of transformation. The music almost feels like an audio representation of the protagonist’s inner feelings. Moments of despair, tragic solitude, pangs from a fear of death, and confusion course through the densely-layered and cleverly-arranged music.
track listing
an/animal (full sequence): 15:28
an/animal 1: 4:10
an/animal 2*: 2:51
an/animal 3*: 4:25
an/animal 4: 4:16
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*Recommended tracks
b-side (vinyl + press copies only):
a/a 1 demo: 5:10
a/a 2 demo: 2:58
a/a 3 demo: 4:21
a/a 4 demo: 4:12
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All tracks are FCC clean
press assets
short bio
Hurrah A Bolt of Light makes pop music for sad people. Their sound is sweaty and anthemic, with catchy hooks and an electric live show that will have you singing along with songs you just heard for the first time. Hurrah will release their long awaited visual album, AN/ANIMAL in January 2022.
official biographies
Hurrah A Bolt of Light makes pop music for sad people. Since its debut, Hurrah has run the gamut from alt-country to indie-rock-pop, and the evolution continues with the changing moods of singer/songwriter, Wil Farr, and his collaborators.
Hurrah has released two full length albums and numerous singles which have drawn comparisons to Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Modest Mouse, and Kings of Leon. Wil Farr’s grit and electricity as a frontman are the centerpiece of Hurrah’s live shows. Their sound is sweaty and anthemic, with catchy hooks that will have you singing along with songs you just heard for the first time.
As a living portfolio, Hurrah A Bolt of Light is in a constant state of evolution. Whether it’s their sound, format, or homebase, change is considered a core element of the creative process. In 2017, Wil moved from New York City to Minneapolis and brought Hurrah with him, believing the vibrant music scene in the Twin Cities would be the perfect place to start the project’s next phase.
In January 2022, Hurrah will release their long awaited visual album, AN/ANIMAL. AN/ANIMAL showcases the swampier, darker side of pop, while remaining as infectious as fans have come to expect from the band. AN/ANIMAL presents its audience with four songs strung into one narrative, made complete by the haunting visuals of its accompanying short film. Fans are invited to consume AN/ANIMAL in its entirety, in pieces, or all of the above.
Hurrah is here. We are ready to sweat and dance with you!
long bio
placements
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“All Quiet Now” (Teen Mom, MTV)
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“It’s Been So Long” (The Voice, NBC)
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“Hold Me Now“ (Last Call With Carson Daly, NBC)
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“One Drink” (Xtreme Waterparks, Travel Channel)
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“Devil On My Shoulder” (Baseball Tonight, ESPN)
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“I Don’t Know Why” (Buying Alaska, Destination America)
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“If You See Me” (Counting Cars, History Channel)
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“In The Morning” (Nate Berkus Show, TLC)
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also featured on:
IFC, OWN, Logo, Animal Planet, Nat Geo, Discovery Channel
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tech rider
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electric guitar: amp (DSR)
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electric bass: amp, di (DSL)
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drums: kick, sn, hat, tom 1, tom 2, oh l-r (DSC)
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spd: 4 lines (di) (DSC)
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two vocals: drums (DSC) and lead vocals (USC)
press
“Wil Farr doesn’t take long to drown himself in sweat. Spun from the same cloth as Bruce Springsteen or Ian Curtis, he routinely leads his homespun band to a blaze of glory, forcing his restless spirit and barbed hooks through anyone looking for a dose of excitement. Hurrah! builds each track of their heartland-brewed, rocking yet rootsy tunes to a frenzy, making believers of anyone looking for a rush of adrenaline chased down with a shot of big band frenzy.”
- The Deli Magazine (The Deli awarded Hurrah A Bolt of Light the title of Best Emerging Indie Rock Band in NYC)
"Sometimes a great band will draw the source of its inspiration from a single well. This isn’t to say that the sum of a group’s parts doesn’t make their sound possible. Rather, a leader will step to the forefront and take the helm, steering the music into uncharted territories. Wil Farr is that kind of rock and roll captain." - BreakThru Radio
"Those exclamation points in the moniker of Hurrah! A Bolt of Light! won’t seem so absurd when you hear the band’s organ-kissed soul-rock. The local sextet sows genuine uplift via thumping dance beats and passionate vocal interplay.”
- Time Out New York
"Hurrah! A Bolt of Light! traffic in anthemic and melodramatic material.” - The New Yorker
“The opening act, Hurrah! A Bolt of Light! electrified the start of the night. Their music sounded something like Joe Cocker or Bruce Springsteen & The Easy Street Band, very charged and exciting. It’d be difficult to stand motionless during one of their sets unless you are in a body cast. The singer has the wide-eyed intense glare of PIL’s John Lydon (and if you said Hurrah’s frontman was his son, I’d believe you), an intense stare and focus similar to Ian Curtis. Watching him and his female co-singer was like watching Johnny Cash and June Carter having as much fun entertaining themselves as their audience. The crowd was not shy to embrace the spirit of excitement either.” - QRO
“Farr’s new ensemble indulges Paper and Sand fans with the expert level of songwriting we’ve come to expect, but subs in some alt-country charm for the barbed hooks of his former gig. What results is that familiar raw energy that erupts in your heart and sears through your veins with a burn that’ll last for days …
Of all the shining moments that grace the 12-song album, the penultimate number flares like a flamethrower in the night. “One Drink” is a balls-out bar brawler that’ll send you straight to the moon. Be advised to listen to this song in a big open space, or you may end up tearing down walls in an adrenaline-fueled frenzy.”