The Hoosiers Compassion Album Launches With Intimate Bury Gig

The Hoosiers brought warmth, wit and a surprising amount of emotional sincerity to Bury this week as they celebrated the upcoming release of their latest studio album, Compassion, with an intimate launch show at Wax and Beans on Monday night.

Best known for noughties indie-pop staples like Worried About Ray and Goodbye Mr A, the duo of Irwin Sparkes and Alfonso Sharland could easily have relied solely on nostalgia, but instead, the evening felt less like a victory lap and more like a band genuinely excited about what comes next.

The new record, due for release this Friday, 15th May, arrives three years after their album Confidence and sees The Hoosiers trading pure chaos-pop energy, for something slightly more reflective without losing the eccentric charm that made them stand out in the first place.

The themes of compassion, burnout, connection and self-talk were threaded naturally throughout the night, though never in a way that felt heavy-handed.

After introducing Alfonso who slotted seamlessly into the night’s playful chemistry, the band launched into a performance of one of their most popular records Cops and Robbers, instantly setting the tone for a show filled with classic and new music.

This was swiftly followed by new track Sleeping With The Light On from the new album, before a slightly out of step but wholly enjoyable rendition of Pink Pony Club, drawing a loud singalong from the crowd.

Whether reliving their teenage years, or celebrating a band of the same generation as themselves, the makeup of the crowd varied at Wax and Beans, while the intimate setting allowed the emotional core of the new material to shine through.

At one point, Alfonso joked: “The industry’s changed, but we haven’t,” which, honestly, felt like the perfect summary of the evening. While music trends, algorithms and attention spans may have shifted dramatically since The Hoosiers first emerged in 2007, their commitment to theatrical live performance and emotionally earnest songwriting remains completely intact.

That self-awareness was on full display throughout the set. Long aware that many people still confuse them with Hozier, the band leaned fully into the joke by breaking into a snippet of Too Sweet, just before newer material including Jigsaw Heart.

Don’t Hang Your Head landed particularly well live, with Sparkes wandering through the crowd mid-performance even briefly accosting the bartender in pursuit of beers for himself and Alfonso while still serenading the audience. It was chaotic, funny and strangely heartfelt all at once.

Having listened to the unreleased songs from the Compassion album, one standout for me was Multiply, which hints at a more mature and emotionally layered direction for the band while retaining their melodic immediacy.

As the night wrapped up, attendees were offered a 20% discount on the band’s 2026 tour dates, though after a performance this joyfully unpretentious, it probably wasn’t needed to convince many people to come back.

In an era where reunion tours and nostalgia acts often feel manufactured, The Hoosiers instead came across as a band still genuinely enjoying themselves, and perhaps more importantly, still enjoying each other.

A final word from Alfonso for the evening: “I mean this from the bottom of both our hearts, be kind, look after each other, times aren’t great, but in here [the venue] it feels really good so thanks for that. We appreciate that.”

Compassion is released in full on Friday 15th May and can be pre-ordered on their website now.

‍