By the sound of the gentle drones that waft in the opening bars, you might be forgiven for thinking Hawk Eyes have gone all Pink Floyd. But of course, then the choppy, chunky chords arrive and... well. ‘The Trap’ still bears the hallmarks of their previous releases, in particular their more recent work, but there’s evidence of a growing maturity, a restraint even, here. Yes, for all the chug, there’s a decidedly prog hint to this opening track. It’s something of a recurring theme on this, their third album (check the intro to lead single ‘Die Trying’ before the guitar slams in) – and once again, serves as a reminder of why Hawk Eyes are one of the most interesting rock acts around, in that they refuse to play to expectation.
‘Everything is Fine’ shows they’re continuing to evolve, while having lost absolutely none of the fire that has seen them win fans from across an array of genres. Conforming to neither the cliché trappings of rock, metal or grunge, they incorporate elements of all thee and more to forge compositions that are often non-linear and extremely ‘busy’ in terms of their layered arrangements. Yes, at times it can make your head spin, but in awe rather than irritation, and there’s nothing remotely formulaic about the 12 tracks featured here.
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‘The Ambassador’ hits full throttle, with some melodic, Faith No More style backing vocals contrasting with the piledriving riff and distorted, manic lead vocal. Terrace-chanting punk collides with technical metal and good old gut-churningly heavy rock on the frantic ‘Permission’, while there’s a more trad rock grunt about ‘Terribly Quelled’.
The title track is two and a half minutes of blistering guitars, thrashed at a frenzied pace. The title is of presumably ironic. The world’s fucked, and front man Paul Astick is on record stating he was plagued by writers’ block during the creation of the album, and consequently had to dredge deep to pull some of the lyrics out of the bag. The result is a brilliantly taut and unpredictable journey, the route of which is directed by some supremely intense riffing. It all adds up to an album that is, quite simply, a belter.
Hawk Eyes Online
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