Darren Hayes – Secret Codes and Battlefields [Album Review]

I don’t make the following sentence lightly but Hayes’ previous double-disc album ‘This Delicate Thing We’ve Made’, a concept album about time travel and fixing things in your past, is one of my favourite albums of all time, a beautiful album of great music, thoughtful lyrics and an interesting storyline throughout its twenty-five tracks. So, it was without hesitation that I picked up the follow-up, ‘Secret Codes and Battlefields’, to see if it was just as good.

Though lacking in the detailed storyline and over-arching themes of its predecessor ‘Secret Codes’ is loosely based around themes of the sea and has many stand out tracks among its dozen tunes, though only a handful that stand up to the majesty of the previous release. That said it’s still a cracking album of emotive, touching songs.

If you have enjoyed the ex-Savage Garden singer’s work so far then you’ll have much to enjoy here. If you didn’t enjoy his previous release then don’t expect a massive leap from the themes and musical style you got on that because there isn’t much of one. What you heard back in 2007 is similar to what you hear here.

Coming in at an impressive forty-seven minutes spanning over twelve tracks, the album opens with ‘Taken By The Sea’, a beautiful opener very much in the style of his last album. ‘Don’t Give Up’ follows and is a track that’s equally pleasant to listen to and name-checks the album but not as strong as the first song.

‘Nearly Love’ is close to Hayes’ era in Savage Garden with excellent lyrics that stand out from the minimal music that compliments but never over-powers throughout the album.

Second UK single ‘Black Out The Sun’ is next, a track originally written for Leona Lewis who must be kicking herself for overlooking it, and is a great but sad and touching song thanks to its well-written lyrics and powerful chorus. A heavy drum beat and story-orientated lyrics lead to the powerful, almost operatic, songs that Hayes does so well.

The next song is ‘Talk Talk Talk’, the first cut from the album, and immediately has a more club-style feel to it with electronic sound effects and a thumbing base, and is much more up-tempo than much else on the album, especially juxtaposed with the previous track. Australian release ‘Bloodstained Heart’ comes after and returns the album to its slow feel, with a chorus that sounds like it has been borrowed from the Editors, given a falsetto makeover and packed into another song about lost love, a theme revisited by Hayes throughout the twelve tunes.

‘God Walking Into The Room’ is another satisfying mix of well-written lyrics and music, with some religious overtones thrown into the mix and some effective, if clichéd, use of some ‘oohs’. Indeed. Afterwards ‘Hurt’, with a synth that sounds like an 80s video game, is similar in style but better to listen to, and continues the layout of songs so far that tend to fade out rather than come to a natural conclusion, suggesting they were not too sure how to end some of the songs.

‘Roses’ is full of imagery, mostly gloomy it has to be said, and with a chorus that borders again into familiar territory to other songs, but a perfectly good bridge track between the bigger hits. ‘Stupid Mistake’ is similar and has an interesting ending to it, and ‘Cruel, Cruel World’ continues the atmosphere set up by the album. ‘The Siren’s Call’ rounds off the album nicely.

Overall, all tracks stand well together in the concept theme and Darren’s voice has never been stronger or his lyrics more emotive or full of imagery. Though it doesn’t quite reach the heights of his last release, it is well worth a listen if you enjoy your songs touching, well-written and a little on the introspective side, plus if you actually slap some money on the counter for a CD edition you get a beautiful hardbook book containing the CDs, lyrics and beautiful photography.

Also, you do get a bonus CD of seven extra tracks. Though it’s churlish to criticise what are basically extra bonuses, the second disc is a mixed bag. ‘Explode’ is a more uptempo song again with an electronic feel and above par chorus, and straddles nicely between main CD fare and a b-side. Track two ‘Perfect’ sounds like a cross between the soundtrack to a ‘Donkey Kong’ video game and a JLS track, with echoes of ‘Talk Talk Talk’ mixed in with some strained metaphors, making it more deserving of a place on this disc than the other.

‘Tiny Little Flashlights’ is another evocative track but more of filler; ‘Nothing’, an emotional song that’s one of the better extra tracks; and ‘Glorious’, possibly one of the most over-used song titles of the past couple of years, doesn’t quite justify its six-minute running time. The bonus CD, though, is rounded off by live versions of the two UK singles, which are basically acoustic songs showing off Hayes’ impressive voice over a minimalist keyboard, allowing his lyrics and voice to shine through and easily the best way to end this double-disc set.

Basically, if you like his previous work then you’re getting more of the same here, but it’s good more, and the addition of seven extra side tracks to the main meal of the album is an added bonus. It’s not going to convert any non-fans but should please anyway who has followed him from his days in Savage Garden plus anyone who likes well-written lyrics over interesting music that don’t break too often into anything more than a half-smile.

7/10