Sometimes I feel very lucky and getting a free copy of this album was one of those times. Ever since I finally dared to listen to their demo, having been convinced they were utter mentalists from the letter they sent with it, I’ve been hugging their songs to my heart (not literally). Hookers Green sound like they practice in a barn in the middle of a field, full of chickens and fog. It’s no surprise that they come from Aberdeen; music like this can only be made by people with an understanding of boredom and cold winds and the comedy of Doric. So, yes, there’s a lot of oddness and whimsy in this album. The song titles would give it away if nothing else although these do complement the charming oddities and whimsies of the songs themselves. With sad, mumbled vocals and tumbling melodies the songs are filled with dreams and thoughts and memories. There’s also piano, multi percussion and, best of all, a brass section lending an air of ambition and confidence to these sometimes ramshackle creations, building epics out of passing thoughts. There’s so much going on in every song – time changes, pauses for thought and hidden bubbling rhythms. At the moment I’m in love with The Strobe Adventurer, almost five minutes of skip happy joy where my ears can barely keep up with each new twist of direction, and the title track’s love song sounding both fearful and quietly, secretly happy. Someone please give them millions of pounds so they can develop into total loons and make quadruple vinyl concept albums while buying remote islands to live on.

www.hookersgreen.com
www.snowstormrecords.com

Posted: 11|3|04 at 9:57 pm. Filed under: record reviews.
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