Ha Ha Heartbreak Warhaus

• 1 Open Window 05:36
• 2 When I Am With You 05:37
• 3 It Had To Be You 03:03
• 4 Time Bomb 04:54
• 5 Desire 04:15
• 6 I'll Miss You Baby 04:05
• 7 Mondello's Melody 01:00
• 8 Batteries & Toys 04:07
• 9 Shadow Play 04:02
• 10 Best I Ever Had 03:18
• Total Runtime 39:57

Info for Ha Ha Heartbreak

Warhaus, the moniker of  Belgium’s foremost alt-crooner, Maarten Devoldere, announces his new album, Ha Ha Heartbreak,  due 11th November via Play It Again Sam.

It has been half a decade since Warhaus, the brainchild of  Maarten Devoldere (Balthazar), suddenly conquered our musical hearts with the triumphant double victory of We F*cked a Flame into Being  (2016) and Warhaus  (2017). And no, not because he spent his time relentlessly writing and refining new material in Ghent, on the contrary. The songs of the brand-new album  Ha Ha Heartbreak  came gushing out if him in a mere three weeks in the sultry city of Palermo. All Devoldere needed was the solitude of a hotel room, a guitar, a microphone, and a heart that had recently been broken in thousands of pieces. The sorrow was hard to handle, so, of course, Sicily was an escape. But as it goes, those who try to outrun life quickly run into themselves.

A listener won’t notice this immediately. The smoky opening track and first single “Open Window” drifts on a groove that invites you to swing your hips and snap your fingers. Sure, she’s gone, but ‘Girl, it’s in the future we belong,’ Devoldere still sings a bit too confidently. You believe him, not least because the song results in a subtly euphoric outro that is reminiscent of a French seventies film: a glorious, unabashed romantic theme, carried out by a dozen steamy male voices, soars off on the wings of a sweeping string arrangement and reaches its climax with virtuosic piano notes.

This treacherous contrast between form and content persists throughout the entire album: Ha Ha Heartbreak – even the title is catchy – wraps Devoldere’s sorrow into hooks, instant singalong choruses and irresistible melodies.

The sound, however, remains wonderfully light. It swings and glows with tantalizing strings, sensual backing vocals, horns, playful piano parts, anything to lighten the load. It allows Ha Ha Heartbreak to be a moving emotional exploration as well as a vessel of great musical richness.

Along with the announcement, Warhaus shares new single ‘Desire’, in which he addresses just about every god he can imagine, but ‘No matter what I turn to / it’s failing me’.

Devoldere says of ‘Desire’: “Trying to love without attachment? Trying to stop the hedonic treadmill from spinning? Trying to reincarnate as Celine Dion’s voice? Follow me on Instagram for misinformation. This song’s dedicated to all those false idols out there.  Love, Warhaus”

Warhaus

Warhaus
Before Maarten Devoldere started releasing smoky art rock with an erotic broadside under the alias Warhaus, his Nick Cave memorial vocals had already become a trademark of the "adult rock" band Balthazar. While he may not always croon quite as deeply and not always quite as rough as for example on his wonderful solo debut "We Fucked a Flame into Being", he was able to amass plenty of experience in the music business over the past years - from which he benefits today especially in form of creative independence. Devoldere has long since found his unmistakable signature which he continuously reformulates through a changing of moods and instrumentation while staying as cool as a young John Travolta. Another reason why the Belgian's song writing might often remain difficult to grasp emotionally. The slightly husky noir-pop-flavoured "Mad World" demonstrates this just as impressively as the sepia-shimmering "Love's a Stranger" - Warhaus constantly juxtaposes the euphoric flow of loving and being loved with the sober gaze of the abandoned. These atmospheric and musical contradictions lovingly push and pull on each other across his albums, but in the end promise to deliver pure pleasure. Belgium has never grooved more sensually.

This album contains no booklet.