-=- SHGZ -=- * Shoegaze * Indie * Post-Rock * Grunge * Dream Pop * Psych-Rock * Ethereal * ARTIST..: Hookworms ALBUM...: Hookworms GENRE...: Psychedelic Rock STYLE...: Psychedelic, Experimental, Electronic YEAR....: 2016 LABEL...: Gringo ENCODER.: LAME 3.98.4 -V0 BITRATE.: 250 kbps avg QUALITY.: 44.1kHz / Joint Stereo SOURCE..: CD TRACKS..: 7 SIZE....: 73.08 MB URL..: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookworms_%28band%29 - TRACKLIST 1 Medicine Cabinet 6:23 2 Teen Dreams 6:21 3 I Have Some Business Out West 5:30 4 Resolution 8:43 5 Form And Function 5:50 6 Deu 2:11 7 The Correspondent 5:59 Total Playtime: 40:57 A reissue of a 7 track expanded version of Hookworms 2011 self-titled debut EP off the back of two critically acclaimed albums - 2013's Pearl Mystic on Gringo and 2014's The Hum released worldwide on Domino arm Weird World is both a marker from where Leeds five-piece have subsequently hurtled forwards from, but also a document and proof of the undeniable character that they've never allowed to waver even as all around them has changed. The EP contains the first tracks the group ever recorded in vocalist and producer MJ's original Suburban Home Studio, with the group just a handful of local shows into their existence √ one such show, supporting Sun Araw lead to its original release. "It was a very exciting time for us," bassist MB recalls. "MJ having his first studio meant we'd gone from practicing in a tiny basement and receiving noise complaints to having a place where we could do what we wanted. We played with Sun Araw just as we were finishing the EP and Cameron Stallones enjoyed our set and asked to hear any recordings - then subsequently released it on cassette." Hookworms have long since evolved into a mighty beast, live able to fill cavernous warehouses with a vitriolic form of kosmiche, as when headlining Liverpool Psych Fest, or when supporting fuzzy legends Slowdive during their 2014 comeback. Hookworms as a listen though already has in place several of the traits that have helped elevate them √ the strutting bass and four note repetition of Teen Dreams is pure Modern Lovers, mining the group's 60's garage and proto-punk influences and mixing them with a caustic modernity. It's the only track that still makes an occasional appearance live; another highlight is the rolling bass thunder of I Have Some Business Out West crackles with the energy of an approaching storm: "Our gear wasn't as good back then so we did quite a bit of re-amping and post-production," MB comments. "The EP was basically a playground for experimentation with a bunch of new guitar pedals we'd recently acquired." In addition, the reissue comes with additional early and rare recordings - the drone heavy initial version of Form and Function, which would appear on a split 7" alongside Nottingham-based peers Kogumaza, plus the swaggering rumbles of The Correspondent √ which appeared on 2012 Sonic Cathedral compilation Psych For Sore Eyes. The former is a premonition of phase two of the band, foreshadowing the heavier, dense sound around Pearl Mystic; the latter still sounds like a wonderful outlier √ which says something for a band whose boundaries have forever stretched towards the horizon. * This debut Hookworms album has been perambulating around the underground for some time; echoing soundly off the walls of the Internet whilst the band gathers congratulatory gig reviews like sycophantic moss. Initially, it was released on cassette √ meaning perfect driving music for those of us with ancient motor vehicles that accept such archaic devices (who's laughing now, eh, ALL OF MY PASSENGERS?). More recently, it has been awarded a vinyl release (complete with download code for those still scratching at their CD players and laptops in modern confusion). The album itself is brief. It's barely an album, technically, due to that brevity. But it feels as though it lasts forever and for no time at all. The Alan Vega-esque vocals, effected to within in an inch of their lives are wrapped in enough persistent feedback to hypnotise you into thinking that you have been immersed in the sound of the vinyl disc spinning around endlessly, for hours and hours. Live, the band have the same effect. You notice someone lifting their guitar over their head, detaching the strap. The feedback is abruptly interrupted by the promoter's chosen soundtrack. You check the clock warily, to see how much time may have passed since you were last aware of your own existence. When almost a minute of near silence fades to zero at the end of 'Resolution', the final track of Hookworms, you wonder if, indeed, you have been listening at all. So you lift the needle and drag it back to the start. In short: it is addictive. Hookworms are masters of the kind of psychedelia that would sniff at the thought of chemical enhancement. The vocals bounce on top of repetitive bass lines and droning synths; an endless cycle of knowing where the song is going next but never really knowing. There's little in the way of distinction between the tracks; a change of vibe, perhaps, but they rumble on in a comforting manner. Guitar lines trip into place from somewhere in the past. Traces of a story rear their head in 'Teen Dreams' (probably the strongest track on the album. Though it's unlikely that we would ever ask the tracks to fight and prove this). A tale of a "race car driver" ricochets around the cacophony of the track like a Fifties melodrama and you imagine he looks like a young James Dean. Hookworms is equal parts space and noise; enough going on to keep you hooked (excuse the pun), enough space in the tracks to set the listener's imagination free. Whilst cassette tapes rattle about in decrepit motors and vinyl platters suffer motion sickness from repeated spins, one can only hope the band are working on a lengthier release, before hypnosis slowly grinds the nation to a halt. -=- SHGZ -=- P.S. ** Thanks *** *** BCC FNT IPC SSR *** *** For Knowing Where The Music Is At *** --===-- ********************* * NuHS we miss you! * *********************