Michigan-based chinook is an instrumental rock quartet. Haymaker is their first full-length release (seven tracks, forty-three minutes). It follows their 2010 EP Me All Night Long.
Nine years between albums? Really? Really. They tell us that every song has at least sixty tracks, with some scoring north of eighty. They incorporate layers and layers of guitars and keyboards, and have hidden some aural Easter eggs. Kudos to the mixer (Matt Ten Clay at Amber Lit Audio), and the masterer (Andy Reed)--they had their work cut out for them, and they did a terrific job delivering a clear, vibrant recording. The drums are big and out front; the nuances of the layered parts shine through, especially on repeated listens. In those nine years, chinook also focused on their songwriting. It shows: the arrangements are tight. The songs are composed well, with clear riffs and verse/chorus structures. This makes the songs much more accessible, and makes the variations (whether in pitch, texture, or accent) that much more apparent. Even better, there’s no noodling or dextrous showing-off that often infects recordings of this genre. Sure, chinook varies time signatures throughout their songs, but these variations are musical and used to good effect. What’s a haymaker, anyway? In boxing, it’s a forceful blow. While the music here is powerful (and the force of chinook’s musicianship is clearly strong), I might have named the album vortex, instead. The music doesn’t come straight at you and knock you over; rather, it swirls around and envelops you. On listening, I found myself carried away, listening to each track and theme develop. Time flew; that’s the sign of a good album. If you like the first cut “Saddlery,” the rest of the album will make sense to you. The band work a repeated riff under multiple overdubs of arpeggiated guitar figures and keyboards. The drums, out in front, move the feel around, and the band shifts meter seamlessly with variations in the riff. Later there are shimmering square-wave synths, and a hard-panned, multiple guitar ending. This is the band and what they do, and they do it well. There are high points throughout the album, but I particularly liked “Fiji,” where handclaps add to the upbeat accessibility of the tune. The bass is locked in with the drums, and the bass-and-drum breakdown worked well. “Glutter” also has a solid bass/drum breakdown. The guitar harmonics on “Frenching” were terrific. Finally, the drum solo on “Kisses” reminded me of Bun E. Carlos, in the best possible way. Lots of care went into the making of Haymaker, and it shows. Well done, chinook, and I hope the next album comes out sooner than 2028!
Become A Fan
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Critique/insightWe are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent music that is available for your listening pleasure as well as giving the artist a professional critique from a seasoned music geek. We critique a wide variety of niche genres like experimental, IDM, electronic, ambient, shoegaze and much more.
Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook
Archives
May 2024
|