Review: Hookworms - The Hum
By Bailey Kretz, Staff Writer
[Weird World; 2014]
Rating: 7.5/10
Key Tracks: “On Leaving,” “Off Screen,” “The Impasse”
The Leeds based psych rock group Hookworms have released their excellent new album, The Hum. Serving as a follow-up to the band’s 2013 debut Pearl Mystic, The Hum features a well-crafted balance of drone and rhythm.
The album kicks off with “The Impasse,” a quick-paced, yelping song reminiscent of Goat’s “Talk To God,” featuring similarly blown out vocals and an alluring beat. It’s a great way to start off the album and smoothly transitions into “On Leaving,” the album’s lead single. A repetitive interweaving of layers gives this album a very Moonduo-esque feel, entrancing listeners in the six-minute track.
The band slows things down a bit with “Off Screen,” a slow-jammer with tons of vocal delay. Rather than layering on a repetitive riff, Hookworms fill out the track’s sound with feedback, fuzz and delay. It works wonderfully in the slower tempo and proves the band’s ability for a diverse sound. The track almost sounds a bit shoegaze-y at times, and vocalist Matthew Johnson’s crooning sounds help add to that feeling.
All but three of songs on The Hum are given titles. The exceptions are “IV,” “V” and “VI,” none of which actually match in terms of placement on the record. Pearl Mystic had the same approach, with three tracks titled “I,” “II” and “III”. These cryptically titled tracks serve as instrumental transitions between songs. The fact they are progressively numbered between two albums, however, leaves a mystery as to what the numbers mean.
Of course, it could always be that they were simply numbered instead of titled because they don’t contain lyrics. But the fact that Hookworms continued this pattern onto a second album makes it seem as though all of these songs are connected with each other in some special way. What that reason is remains a mystery.
Sophomore albums are difficult for a band, especially when the debut album is as excellent as Pearl Mystic was. It can be tough to follow-up a successful record, and as a result, many bands change their sound to offer variety to listeners. What this really does is assure that critics will not compare their two albums too closely as they should.
Although change can be a great way to experiment, many bands lose their sound the second time around. Hookworms manage to strike the ideal balance on The Hum by proving their adaptability to listeners without compromising the appeal in their work. If this album serves as any sign for how the rest of their career will go, then listeners have a lot to look forward to.
