Hamel's songs are achingly catchy, or sometimes just aching. They often juxtapose deeply sad and even scathing lyrics with happy melodies that sweep you in. Imagine the musical landscape of a lush big band who would play with Frank Sinatra or Peggy Lee set against the emotional palette of Jeff Buckley. Hamel is complex, seductive, clever. His songs reflect subtlety, anxiety, euphoria. How is Hamel in love, happy or heartbroken? "Both. I don't believe that love makes you happy. I believe in relationships and being in love, but I think you always keep longing for something you can't explain and perhaps romanticise past relationships. I don't analyse the lyrics when I'm writing them... only after. From my songs you can tell that in love I'm usually the one who is dumped rather than the one who dumps. And although that's true and I might embrace that moment, I'm also very lucky in that now I'm very happy. It seems that I put all my melancholy in my songs."