Hyperbubble is an international visual and performing arts electropop/synth-pop duo from San Antonio, Texas, formed by Jeff DeCuir and Jess Barnett DeCuir. The music of this American group is variously described as "early Eurythmics meets Josie and the Pussycats," referencing "markers such as New Musik, the Normal and Thomas Dolby." Their songs are "catchy synth pop that mixes kitsch, retrofuturism and pop art in a chrome blender and sets the contents jiggling to a hypnotic robo-rhythm" with "lyrics that offer quirky takes on SF tropes from cyborgs and clones to ray guns and erotic surveillance."
History
Spleen, Pink Filth and Crevice
Jeff DeCuir starred separately in numerous bands leading up to Hyperbubble. An example is Spleen, a Jem and the Holograms tribute band, Jeff co-founded in 1989 and in which he played drums under the name Stormer.
Jeff first performed together with Jess Barnett DeCuir in the experimental dark ambient group Crevice and later, the "bouncy AM retro-pop" Pink Filth, both recording primarily with Uncle Buzz Records. In the latter band, the duo played under the stage names, Nick Velvet and Baby Jessica, working lead vocals and keyboards. The two married in 2000.
Both bands mixed art with music, foreshadowing the pair's efforts with Hyperbubble. Crevice collaborated with American visual artist and composer Christian Marclay on the premier of Marclay's now-annual touring exhibit, The Sounds of Christmas, in 1999. Pink Filth created music that was part of an installation by Jess as well as producing the CDs included with the comic books Warrior Nun Areala Special Edition No. 3 and Shotgun Mary CD Edition No. 1 by Antarctic Press.
Hyperbubble
The band started as a creation of Jeff. Hyperbubble first appeared as the attributed author of a track on the 1997 album Acid Ranch 2000. Several years later, Jess joined him after the dissolution of Pink Filth to re-launch the concept band. In 2004, Hyperbubble debuted their first album, Sol!d Pop. Described as "peppy synth pop par excellence," the album showcased their ability to apply "the breakneck pace of punk… to straight-up synthpop."
Their music contained a wry sci-fi element, the duo labeling it "bionic bubblepunk." Hyperbubble was described as a band "in the proud tradition... of musicians pretending to be robots," but "taking the android artifice to intentionally over-the-top extremes, then undercutting all the sci-fi hokum with flashes of genuine humanity." Sol!d Pop also displayed their persistent use of sampling; the band's most popular downloaded song, "Leon", even featured sounds from their cat. With their penchant for mixing, a remix version of the album soon followed. This tradition continued for future albums as well.
Hyperbubble realized regional success with a showcase band slot at the South by Southwest Music Festival and their 2007 album, Airbrushed Alibis, named a best local album. The band was later voted Best Electronica Band in 2008 and runner-up Best Electronic Band in 2009 and Best Electronic Act in 2010 in the San Antonio Current. They gained international recognition with recordings released by UK label Filthy Little Angels, which included Airbrushed Alibis. The "retro-techno-bubblegum pop" album continued their "cartoonish, Hanna-Barbera view of the future, informed by 1960s visions of the 21st century as an era of flying cars and robotic romance." A 2008 dub version of the album heavily remixed and slowed down the pace of the original tracks.
Huw Stephens featured the Hyperbubble song "Supermarket Casanova" on his nationally syndicated BBC Radio 1 program in 2007. Their tour of the UK the next year led to them being signed by Glasgow-based Bubblegum Records. Their first EP with the label, Better Set Your Phasers to Stun, featured a collaboration with Welsh bubblegum pop punk rocker Helen Love in which they covered her song from the title, with an added vocal track provided by her from her 1995 tune, "We Love You". The release completed their transition to a truly international group. Later in 2018, Love promoted the band in their music video for "Double Denim".