The Futureheads

On the one hand, it’s easy to be tempted to think that any band best known for a cover version are probably of dubious worth creatively, but that couldn’t be further from the truth where The Futureheads are concerned; sure, the track they’re most readily associated with is Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds of Love’ after they put their own stamp on it back in 2004, but in the following decade, they’ve continued to push the envelope artistically - not least on their fifth album, Rant, which was entirely a capella, with just vocals and no conventional instrumentation of any kind. In support of the album, they toured a capella, too, playing at concert halls rather than conventional rock clubs and extending the concept to their back catalogue, reinterpreting old tracks according to the new album’s concept; the gigs met with a strong critical response. Since then, they’ve gone back to what they know, playing standard rock shows as they prepare material for album number six; they still have a fervent cult fanbase, and remain a popular festival booking, turning ‘Hounds of Love’ into an exercise in mass audience participation and defying the demise of the scene they emerged from with tight, high-energy sets.