Last month we celebrated the return of The Hickey Underworld (Younes Faltakh (vocals, guitar), Jonas Govaerts (guitar), Yorgos Tsakiridis (bas) and Jimmy Wouters (drums); with the track "Euromancer" and the announce of "Cold Sun", their fourth album coming out 13 March on V2 Records. Today we release a second single from that album, called "Constant Wave On A Rock".
“Constant Wave On A Rock” hits with a fast, off-kilter reggaeton pulse, pushing indie desert blues into new terrain. The rhythm feels like running downhill at twilight, while the vocal rides a feverish devotion. It’s tense, hypnotic, and built for late-night movement. The song carries a heat-struck emotional urgency, like love that’s too much to contain.
The Hickey Underworld was founded by childhood friends Younes Faltakh and Jonas Govaerts. They named themselves after a song by The Nation of Ulysses, one of their favorite bands on Dischord Records, the legendary indie label of Fugazi frontman Ian MacKaye.
That Dischord influence is clearly audible on their self-titled debut album, released in 2009 on the French label Naïve. The album, produced by Bent Van Looy, Niek Meul, and Reinhard Vanbergen of Das Pop, also revealed the band’s more pop-oriented side — particularly in the breakout single "Future Words", which received heavy airplay on Studio Brussel and Radio Willy.
Three years later came their second album, I’m Under The House, I’m Dying (2012, PIAS), again produced by Das Pop and mixed by Dave Sardy. In 2015, the band released Ill on the same label, recorded by Niels Hendrix (Fence). The title proved somewhat prophetic: Jonas Govaerts developed a chronic hearing disorder and was temporarily replaced by Tim Van Hamel, the driving force behind Millionaire. Not long after the recordings, Faltakh decided to pull the plug on the group.
Until 2023: during the lockdown, the itch returned. Faltakh, drummer Jimmy Wouters, and bassist Yorgos Tsakiridis found their way back to the rehearsal room. Original member Jonas Govaerts also rejoined.
Not only was the desire back, but also the inspiration: soon after, The Hickey Underworld began recording their long-awaited fourth album. The sessions took place partly with Vanderhasselt and partly in Sweden, where producer Niek Meul has a studio.
The reborn Hickey Underworld found a new home with V2 Records, which will release several singles starting in November, followed by the full album in March. Also planned: a visual teaser created by Govaerts, and a music video directed by the American art collective Everything Is Terrible.
The band also announced several live dates, starting with a release show in Trix on 27th March. Tickets and info can be found here.
27 March Live @ Trix, Antwerpen
2 April Live @ Cactus Club, Brugge
16 April Live @ Beurschouwburg, Brussel
08 May Live @ Rotown, Rotterdam