ALBUM OF THE WEEK
After last year’s excellent debutPearl Mysticmade its way onto several 2013 best-of lists, Hookworms have returned with a worthy follow-up. The fame-shy Leeds five-piece (the band members go by their initials rather than full names) crafted a superb proggy psych-rock monster on that debut, butThe Humfinds Hookworms embracing their punk side.
Nowhere is this more evident than on opener ‘The Impasse’, a furious two-and-a-half minutes of wailing vocals and pounding drums that bleeds into the pulsating ‘On Leaving’, an album highlight. ‘On Leaving’ shows that psych rock is still Hookworms’ chief trade, and by trimming the excess they’ve found an energy that only makes their music more visceral without sacrificing the trippy aesthetic.
Like on Pearl Mystic, a trio of instrumentals blend in and out of their neighbouring tracks to give the album a sense of flow, as if it is one whole piece of music. That’s not to discount the quality of individual songs, as the two openers and ‘Radio Tokyo’ and ‘Retreat’ leave a powerful impression with their sheer vigour and ferocity.
The members of Hookworms might shy away from the spotlight, but if they keep releasing albums as good as this one, that spotlight is going to get harder and harder to avoid.
4.5/5.
