Indie Music Album Reviews

H.Pe - Computer Rock with Notes on Translation

6/30/2022

H.Pe

Computer Rock with Notes on Translation
self-released; 2022

By Matt Jensen

H.Pe is Ben Hope. It wasn’t too long since we reviewed Interfaction. He is back with Computer Rock with Notes on Translation which is his most recent release. The album contains eleven songs and is about forty four minutes long. It’s full of emotive songs that blend elements of folk and rock.

The song opens with “Friday” and I absolutely loved the juxtaposition on this song. Hope sings “I can’t wait for Friday night” which is something people usually say with some excitement. Hope sounds like he’s yearning for it. It’s brilliant and a bit funny when you look at it from that angle.

“Magnifica” is where we start to get into the album. It’s a full band but nothing too fancy which he saves for later. You get guitars, bass and drums. Hope hits it out of the park with the vocals. Similar to the opener, his delivery is very emotive and comes from his gut. It’s a song that on paper is pretty simple but there’s some ineffable magic when you listen to it.

“Estuary #2” is a great song as well. There’s a super smooth acoustic guitar, percussion and bass which creates a serene and calming soundscape. The hook is strong here as well which has notable vocal harmonies.

There’s more complexity on “Parallel Sound” which features atmospheric elements. It sounds like there are some synths and that combined with the more electronic kit create an 80’s vibe. The song is catchy and again the vocals hit the mark.

The flavor sort of continues with “Telemachine” where we start to get into the meat of the album. This has an assortment of colors and tones. Some of the grooves were funky as he sings “Hey you everybodys looking/On no nobodys watching”.“Sirens” has a blaring guitar solo you don’t want to miss.

As the album progresses I thought there were some highlights. “Dance” deleviers dance worthy beats while “Days in the South of New Town” has arguably the most infectious vocals on the album along with stellar production.

Hope goes all out on the closer “Other Things” which might be the most complex song on the album. It’s a largely ambient soundscape he sings against but the song does get beat going just much later in the song.

I loved this album. Almost every song hits the bullseye. Hope proves with this release he is the real deal by following up his previous album with something just as impressive. Take a listen.