Holograms | A Review of Their Self-Titled Album

The Holograms are a post punk band from Stockholm and have released a new album filled with hard hitting rhythms and dripping with energy. Punk music came about in the U.K. during a time of economic troubles and obvious case differences in society, not unlike now.  So it makes sense that a return to this satisfyingly angry style of music would happen. What else will fight off the corporately created likes of One Direction. The fate of all ruffians does not lie entirely on the shoulders of the Holograms, but they are a nice addition to the fight.

A punk band with an electronic flare isn’t a new thing but there is something compelling about this Swedish band’s take on the genre. Laced with driven guitar riffs and tightly woven lyrics the Holograms have, with this self-titled album turned out something that is rather memorable mostly due to the strong choruses that pop up throughout the album. Orpheo has a killer chorus which is essentially a one word anthem; it just seems to burst out of the speakers with a life of its own.  Then there is the track Stress, it has an electronic backed with a bit of surfer rock vibe, when the lead singer hits the chorus of this track leans on the word Stress like a champ, which might sound like a small thing but the devils in the details as they say, and this band has managed to work the punk genre very well.

The self-titled album of the Holograms is loaded with great songs that harken back to songs like London Calling and God Save The Queen. But the album does leave the listener wondering why the lead singer in a Swedish band sounds like he has an English accent?       

The Henry Clay People | Twenty-Five For the Rest of Our Lives A Review

Loud but far from obnoxious the Los Angeles based The Henry Clay People are among the proud and rightfully pissy latest iteration of rock music with their new album Twenty-Five For the Rest of Our Lives. The album might start off with a mic test but there is nothing scientific about the music that follows. Similar to The Thermals in style, the energetic sound of The Henry Clay People is rooted in what made rock music so unapologetically willful, boyish and enjoyable.

Being in the prime of life and not having much to worry about has always been a popular theme for musicians and that sentiment is properly expressed on this album’s title track. In the way that Japanther made last year a little bit more tolerable with their enthusiastic album Beats, Limes and Rice, The Henry Clay People’s latest brings some much needed life to 2012’s indie rock scene. They seem to relish in the  realization that the bands they grew up with have become less than ideal in their eyes, as it’s put in the track Everybandweeverloved, most great bands are either selling out or breaking up. A fact that is often overlooked by most music fans due to apathy or nostalgia, but they forgot the ones which became rich and stopped giving a shit about the music they produce or maybe that was covered in the selling out part. The track Hide starts off with a touch of synth that leads into a full blown critique of the state of society and its current woes.

The members of The Henry Clay People may be nostalgic but are far from apathetic. They have taken it upon themselves with their latest album Twenty-Five For the Rest of Our Lives to remind even the most cynical music listeners what  it is about being young and pissed off that can be such a pure joy.