Time for a debut album and this one is from Italian rock band Hyper Evel who prove themselves to be the kind of band that is big on riffs, blues rock and blessed with a notable degree of lyrical conscience.
Their self titled album also demonstrates that Hyper Evel have much more precision and confidence that you would expect of a band on their first album. “Silly” launches the album with a rock solid beat and a searing harmonica that makes them sound positively American. Not content with staying in that style, “Ethical” takes Hyper Evel deep into math rock territory whilst Cristian Barbieri muses on the evils of consumerism. The operations of big business then fall under scrutiny in “Just Disgusting” accompanied by the kind of weighty riffs that you would expect of a metal band.
It’s not all doom and despondency though and the frenetic “Strange Country” is New York bound with a transformation into a wave your lighters in the air anthem whilst on the journey clearly on the cards. Last song on the album, and perhaps the most experimental, is “Animals” that takes an altogether more discordant, even avant garde, approach to making a sonic mark.
A proper rock band today has to have intelligence – and Hyper Evel have that – and they have to avoid complacency. No problems there either and that makes “Hyper Evel”, the album, worthy of your attention.