In little over a year, Cork’s indie-synth-pop newcomers Hooray for Humans have gotten their act together, toured extensively, written and recorded a demo, created a Myspace buzz on the back of said demo (racking up over 25,000 hits in the process), and are now preparing for the launch of their debut album on Out On A Limb Records, following the digital release of their, eh, signature, song, Signature, last week.  

It has, quite literally, been non-stop for these Humans, who first came together with the simple goal of creating the kind of  synth-pop aesthetic that was far removed from their previous acts sounds. “The whole thing started just over a year ago,” says guitarist and vocalist Alan Healy, “when I was looking to start a new band. The first person to express an interest was Aine (synth and vocals), so it was just the two of us at the very start. Soon after our friend Darragh joined on drums and we started jamming. We had all come from different backgrounds - hardcore, indie, noise and such, but were definitely all on the same wavelength when it came to what we had in mind for H4H.”

Within a few months of forming, H4H found their ranks reduced by one, with drummer Darragh departing the fold, (possibly) in search of sun, sea and sangria in Mexico. With their first gig fast approaching, Alan and Aine recruited the rhythm section of Cork indie-rockers Waiting Room, marking a new chapter in the Human interest story. The core nucleus remained in place for the recording of their debut album, Safekeeping, which gets its release nationwide on Friday, October 26. Although very much a unit for that period of time, it is Alan’s vision that fuels much of the material on their debut offering, although the members are hoping, with one album under their collective belts, any follow-ups will prove to be a more collaborative effort.

“The song writing process at the moment has seen Alan writing most of the songs and lyrics with Aine,” says bassist Dave Ahern. “They bring it into the practice room and we put the finishing touches on them. It seems to be working this way for the moment but I’d love to be more involved with the song writing process in the future.”

“So far this has worked quite well,” adds Alan, “but at the same time this method of writing can have obvious problems. I already have a couple of songs for the second record but besides these I would definitely hope that we begin writing together as a band, and for the process to be more inclusive in the future. I’m looking forward to having a permanent drummer (Drummer Wayne Dunlea departed following the recording of the album) and the band being a ‘unit’ again.”

In spite of the line-up changes, H4H have continued to build on the early promise hinted at on their three track demo, through constant gigging and internet-buzz. “We were totally shocked by the response we got on myspace at the start,” says Alan. “It was kind of surreal because there seemed to be a small ‘buzz’ about us before we even played our first gig. But I think it definitely reflected a change in how people view independent bands and labels. I think it definitely works in the favour of the smaller bands because it pretty much reduces everyone to the same level - one page with three or four songs, and that’s all you have to promote yourself with.”

“This was kind of strange for me,” says Dave, picking up the thread, “because any band I had been in before we always gigged, toured and begged radio DJs to play our music to gain fans. I think it’s all good though. It’s just a new and different approach to getting your band known.”