Cassette Review // WHOLE "HYDRA" (Blackjack Illuminist Records)
"HYDRA" begins with big drumming and then it turns into that darkwave that I love from WHOLE. The distortion kicks in on this first song, "Beast", but it somehow manages to keep the melody and I think that's what makes WHOLE so special- they can keep that beauty within the chaos. With a steady rhythm, "Sudden Hydra" is a bit more of an upbeat electro new wave sound as it can become catchy in the singing of "All of a sudden / I feel it coming".
Nice electronics come slipping through on "Ten Commandments" while "Dead Deer" has the line about being "Tired of people stepping on my toes". As we kick off the flip side it has big synthwave energy but on some level can almost sound like Linkin Park. A big piano break down and then those hollow synth tones beat through on "Rip". Elements of the band Brazil also come out during this song.
As we near the end of the cassette, "Flagstone" has this fun side to it but can also just be intense like Muse. "This is bigger than us" is a line you should be paying attention to, and in the last song- "Morricone"- there is this big, epic feeling like something more experimental from Radiohead. The way that the music just all comes together and really takes you on a journey from the start of the cassette to the end is really important as well, as if "Morricone", for example, was placed in the third spot instead of at the end it would've felt out of place.
The musical side of WHOLE remains so prominent, at times it feels like it takes over the lyrics, and rightfully so because there aren't a lot of other artists to compare this with. While there are a broad sense of pieces from artists both modern and from the 1980's / 1990's, I'd say it has something lik 3% of an artist such as Neon Trees and maybe 2% Thompson Twins, and so all these smaller pieces come together to form what is essentially WHOLE.
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