| CD REVIEW Hooghwater |
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Band : Hooghwater Tilburg (Holland), early 2007: having been active previously with Restless Youth (an act which left an impression on the town's underground scene, progressing from a mixture of Oldschool Hardcore and Punk on their demo and 7-inch EP State Of Confusion,to a more dynamic combination of Hardcore Punk and '70s Rock on their 2006 full-length album Light Up Ahead, issued through the Complete Control imprint) which had just passed onto greener fields...well, actually the band split up, all members continuing in music in several other projects...life-long friends Joseph Meurs (singer) and Chris Blankers (guitar) decided to continue their route in music together. What with their influence being the prevalent one in the subtle directional change in Restless Youth, their new project promised to be a positive continuation. Now, it's an interesting phenomenon that during 2005 and 2006 quite a few of the bands which had build the scene in Tilburg in the first part of the new millenium had disbanded, making room for even more regroupings and collaboration projects in the city. However, one of the most prominent drummers in that town, Ries Doms (who'd made a name for himself playing for such acts as Bars, The Spades, Powervice and most recently The Hydromatics) was finding himself without any band to play in at all. His problem, of course, was that he extended the high standards he demands of his own play towards the other people he plays with...which is why Joseph and Chris were hesitant to ask him to join 'em in the first place. During the Summer of 2007 a mutual friend (and apparently music journalist of the local scene) was able to convince the duo to call Ries anyway, and no more than three days later the trio had already written their first song together! According to the biography written by same music journalist Erik van Hest, Chris and Joseph had already developed a raw sound not dissimilar to The Wipers with hints of late '60s Psychedelica during their early jam sessions, and Ries' imput added to this his influences from bands like Captain Beyond and Vanilla Fudge. In January 2008 the trio travelled to the Burning Ear Studio in Essen, Germany, to record the five songs on their debut release (recordings which were later mixed and mastered by Pieter Kloos of Motorpsycho fame, among others). The resulting 31-minute mini-album is a thing somewhat removed from what Chris (also played bass on the studio recordings) and Joseph (played additional guitar) used to do in their previous band, and could be seen as a somewhat peculiar take on Stoner Rock! The difference being that the guitar melodies are concentrated around note-playing (which does a lot to introduce the Psychedelic thing in Hooghwater's music) rather than on drawn-out, slow-paced riffs with a lot of sustain and feedback in the sound. Not that those elements aren't occasionally available, but they're not prevalent. Well, all you have to to to compare the boys' old band with the current one, is to go listen to what's posted at myspace.com/therestlessyouth, and hear how it differentiates itself from the two tracks posted at myspace.com/hooghwater. If you want to hear more, you can find a short video at hooghwater.com...or simply go out to the record store to buy the album. I tell you, it's well worth your hard-earned bucks. One track which specifically tickled my fancy is "Stole The Soul", where the singer (?) whistles during a somewhat Western-influenced calmer passage! Great stuff, well worthy of the good rating I'm giving it! Well, the rating may still be moderate, but I expect a following full-length WILL find its way into my year-lists. Meanwhile, the trio have added bassist Dave van Beek to their line-up, and the quartet already have their first gigs under the belt. At the moment, live activities are still restricted to Holland, but Tilburg only being situated at some 12 kms from the Belgian border, I'm sure the guys will soon pop up their heads on some Belgian stages soon enough...something to look out for! 90/100 Tony. |