Altsounds - Hasikara Smile - Elephant Gun [Album]

I put in Hasikara Smile’s self-released debut album, ‘Elephant Gun,’ with absolutely no idea what it was. No expectations whatsoever. I heard the first couple tracks from this disc and completely fell out. The opening track, “Korkscrew,” runs on an steady syncopated percussion riff, with alternately funky and dirty guitar, cool lyrics, and freaky synthesized noise that not only fits but actually rocks. They’re not the first to use the synthesized effects, but the combination sounds fresh to my ear.

The second track, “Cry Wolf,” features childish voices singing a vocal line of playground simplicity, but it’s paired with a rock beat, driving guitar, and whistling keyboards. The overall effect reminds me of something you might hear on Battles’ experimental rock release, ‘Mirrors’. These two tracks reveal that Hasikara Smile’s two members, Fergus and Fred “Dirty Beau” (both from Norwich, UK), have what I love most in a band: ideas.

Of course, as on any release that ranges around as much as this one, not everything Hasikara Smile does works for me, personally. Some of the production is a little treble heavy and jangling. There are several songs that feature a repetitive guitar line, simple percussion, and not much else. At their worst on this release, they are merely uninteresting, though never repellent. At their best, however, they combine familiar elements in surprising ways, write catchy hooks, and produce multi-faceted, compelling electronic rock.

‘Elephant Gun’ is available from a few different sources on-line, including HMV, TuneTribe, and Napster. It is also available on eMusic and if you follow this link, you can listen to a few samples. Definitely check out the first two I described above and listen to these picks as well.

“Stuck on Repeat” (#5) opens with a guitar line right out of surf music and more noodling with synthesizer effects. The song builds throughout and by the end, the shouted, layered vocals, relentless guitar, and Hammond-esque keyboards turn this into a real rocker.
“Honyock” (#10) is a contemplative little 55-second piece that is simple but pretty. I would like to have heard them explore this groove a little more.
“Backra Fire” (#11) reminds me of parts of the old Funkadelic classic “Maggot Brain.”

I love it when I take a chance on something new and it turns out to be really great. Hasikara Smile’s debut is a good stand-alone release and it shows remarkable promise. I will be interested to hear where they go from here, particularly if they sign with a major label and/or get a top-notch producer in the studio with them. In the meantime, I will enjoy this solid effort.