Hello Cosmos: Come Out Tonight
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Hello Cosmos are on fighting form with their second album, Come Out Tonight. Andy Brown joins the revolution for Louder Than War.
With gargantuan levels of misinformation, all-consuming algorithms and social unrest spurred on by billionaire-owned social media platforms, our current digital landscape is something that could make even Charlie Brooker wince and recoil. It’s this backdrop that provides context for Come Out Tonight; the new album from Greater Manchester-based band Hello Cosmos. Of course, Ben ‘Boone’ Robinson and Co aren’t about to take this lying down. As the singer explains, the album is about “finding the strength to switch off digital screens and go out and live.”
With long-term members joined by a revolving cast of co-conspirators; the collective serves-up eleven electrifying cuts over an impressively lean 42-minute runtime. “Disco is dead/ Punk lost its thread/ Rave needs to be saved/ Rock is rolling in its grave,” declares Robinson on Joy Is The Way. Lyrics that really wouldn’t look out of place splashed across some subversive billboard. A little like Roddy Piper in John Carpenters satirical sci-fi They Live, we’re finally seeing the world as it really is.
Grind Into The Shrine takes a sonic sander to the daily grind with two minutes and fifty-six seconds of alt-rock racket propelled by bass, drums, synth and heavily distorted electric violin. The album is noticeably gnarlier than its predecessor; with something satisfyingly primal about much of the instrumentation. Perhaps more so than anything they’ve released so far, Come Out Tonight really captures the bands infectious live energy. These songs simply ooze feedback and fuzz.
Spin That Wheel keeps the record turning with a brilliant bassline and a suitably exhilarating harmonica solo. There’s a tonne of musicians across the album and absolutely everyone is giving it their all. Turn Off The News feels like the audio-equivalent of a full pack on Mentos in a bottle of pop while the lyrics really hit the nail on the head: “Save this land from the creeping authoritarian hands/ From the dark agendas and the erosion of rights, before they come for us in the night.”
With jagged stabs of discordant guitar and a menacing yet playful atmosphere, Echo A2Z finds the band at their most experimental. I love every murky minute. Gig Buddies gets the adrenaline pumping with a barely-contained punk-rock banger before FUK ZUK sets our socks ablaze. “Tech companies are terrorists,” the singer proclaims over a meaty alt-rock groove. Lyrically the track draws a line in the sand between humanity and the ever-expanding reach of tech giants. Nice to hear that filthy sax too.
Hot Seat rolls in like one of those particularly propulsive offerings from The Cure as Robinson performs his very own ecstatic exorcism: “Let it go/ Let it go/ Let it go!” The drum and bass sound that they managed to capture on this track – and across the entire album – is enough to rattle the rafters of your soul. Awake & Bake then greets us with an unexpectedly melancholic lyric and weeping post-rock guitars: “Give it oxygen/ Give it time/ Give it some hope.” A healing and hopeful gem.
Black Gloss features a cheeky new wave synth line and a lyric about a youthful search for identity. It’s an absolute blast. The album comes to a close with Old Friends Know: a heart-wrenchingly beautiful, gospel-inspired slow-burn that builds to one of those undeniably euphoric conclusions. A stunning unfinished symphony to get us to the end of 2025. It’s one of those tracks that feels like it comes out of nowhere and really knocks you for six.
Angry, alive and out to inspire, Come Out Tonight stands as a loud and reassuringly bold offering from the ever-growing Hello Cosmos collective. This isn’t just another piece of content to consume: this is an album – and a band – to embrace. A plea for authenticity and connection in a corporately controlled digital dystopia. Turn off the television and come join the revolution.
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You can find Hello Cosmos on Facebook, Instagram and Bandcamp.
All words by Andy Brown. You can visit his author profile and read more of his reviews for Louder Than War HERE.
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