The Hoosiers have always thrived on a kind of technicolour optimism, the sort that made their 2007 debut The Trick to Life feel like a sugar rush in album form. But nearly two decades on, the duo of Irwin Sparkes and Alan Sharland have found a new gear. Their sixth album, ‘Compassion’, out now, is the sound of a band rediscovering not just their purpose, but their place in a world that feels increasingly short on the very thing they’re championing.
If 2022’s Confidence was about rediscovering belief in themselves, Compassion is the natural next step: a record that asks what happens when you turn that belief outward, towards the people around you, the culture you’re part of, and the fractured world you’re trying to navigate.
The album was born in just five intense days at Angelic Studios, the same creative home built by their late friend and producer Toby Smith. That emotional connection gives the record a pulse, a sense of urgency and gratitude, that runs through every track.
Rather than chasing trends or algorithms, Sparkes and Sharland leaned into a simple question: If you could release one intention into the world, what would it be? Their answer became the album’s title, and its mission statement.
Where Confidence was about self‑belief, Compassion is about self‑kindness, and, crucially, kindness towards others. The band take aim at the toxic self‑improvement culture of the “manosphere”, the rise of “looksmaxing”, and the creeping idea that we’re all somehow not enough.
Tracks like “Don’t Hang Your Head” push back with warmth and clarity: you are enough, you are loved, and you don’t need to contort yourself into someone else’s idea of worthiness. Elsewhere, “Everybody Is A Little More Broken Than They Pretend To Be” and “Permission To Rest” explore the quiet, everyday battles we rarely admit to.
The title track, “Compassion”, goes further still, asking whether we can extend empathy even to those who don’t share our values. It’s a bold, grown‑up sentiment from a band who once specialised in neon‑bright indie pop, but it lands with surprising weight.
What’s most striking is how much joy radiates from the record. Sparkes and Sharland sound energised, playful, and genuinely grateful, not just to still be making music, but to still be loved for it.
“We love playing in this band more than ever,” they say, and you can hear it. Compassion feels like a gift, or, in their words, “a big, stanky hug”, to the fans who’ve stuck with them.
The Hoosiers are taking Compassion on the road immediately, starting with a run of intimate in‑store shows before a full UK tour this October.
In‑Store Tour
15 May — Rockabuy Records, Oakham
16 May — Rough Trade East, London
17 May — Vinilo, Southampton (Afternoon)
17 May — Staggeringly Good, Southsea (Pie & Vinyl out‑store) (Evening)
18 May — Rough Trade, Bristol
19 May — Rough Trade, Nottingham
20 May — Brudenell Social Club, Leeds (Crash out‑store)
‘Compassion’ UK Tour — October
6 Oct — O2 Academy, Oxford
7 Oct — O2 Academy, Bristol
8 Oct — O2 Ritz, Manchester
9 Oct — NX, Newcastle
10 Oct — Classic Grand, Glasgow
13 Oct — Islington Assembly Hall, London
15 Oct — O2 Institute, Birmingham
16 Oct — Chalk, Brighton
17 Oct — Waterfront, Norwich
18 Oct — Engine Rooms, Southampton
Compassion is The Hoosiers at their most open‑hearted and self‑assured. It’s a record that acknowledges the messiness of modern life but refuses to let cynicism win. Instead, it offers something far more radical: warmth, humour, and a reminder that we’re all just trying our best.
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