H4H’s music has, to date, been called everything from indie to emo right on through to synth pop, and, it that regard, the band’s swift ascendancy and buzz-worthy factor is really not all that surprising. Recent months have seen an upsurge in the number of synth-heavy indie bands in this country, but while the current trend is good to those on the up and up, H4H are desperate to avoid pigeonholing so as to sustain their own lifespan. They are understandably cautious about current trends. “I tend to just tell people we’re a pop band,” says Alan. “We do seem to be grouped in with the current trend for electronic music quite often, which can be damaging because it’s almost like you aren’t being judged on your own merits, and are being judged as part of a scene. Also I tend to dislike any notion of a market or scene being created because it’s not only lazy, but it also reduces it to something that seems much more cynical or calculated - something which is definitely at odds with what H4H is all about.”

The highly polished, vocal heavy sheen of Safekeeping, recorded by Ross O’Donovan (Waiting Room, Ten Past Seven), attests to Alan’s assertion that H4H are indeed a pop-band. “To be honest it turned out exactly like we wanted it to. We definitely had an idea in our head of how it should sound and I think we managed to achieve that. Obviously we’re a pop band so we needed everything to be clear and audible, but still sound sort of heavy at the same time.” “That was one of the main reasons for working with Ross in the first place,” adds Dave. “I worked with Ross in my previous band and I knew he was good at producing vocal heavy mixes.”

Proactive Irish indie label Out On A Limb Records subsequently stepped in with an offer to release Safekeeping, much to the delight of H4H, and while it would be easy to get ahead of themselves, for the time being, the guys and gal are simply focused on the matter at hand. “From the moment we made the decision to try to write an album, we had hoped we could do it with Out On A Limb,” Alan says. “It’s been amazing working with them. If OOAL release a record, it’s because they care about the music and want it to be heard.” “I think they can do as good a job as any label in the country,” adds Dave. “Both their roster and track record proves this. All involved with the label really, really believe in the record and are going to work 100% on it so there’s no reason why we’d have some stranger with money to put it out.”

Concluding, Alan offers his hopes for the album. “In terms of Safekeeping I just hope people hear it and like it. I don’t really know what to expect, but I can’t wait to get it out there. I would love to do a second record, but that’s not an immediate concern. As long is this is still fun we’ll keep doing it.”

Safekeeping is released nationwide on Friday, October 26. H4H launch said album on Friday, November 2 at Cyprus Avenue.

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