Review: Hockey
By Tanita Sidhu
Monday 2nd November 2009
Monday 2nd November 2009
Slightly obscure indie bands seem to crop up all over the place these days, usually fronted by a skinny jeans-clad scene kid with a screechy voice. Although new wave foursome Hockey is clearly an aficionado of the tight denims. Singer Ben Grubin’s competent and versatile vocals are something not to be missed.
Whether you are just after an album bursting with infectious dance tracks or you want to uncover a band that isn’t afraid to revamp classic music genres, Oregon-based Hockey is the answer. Aiming to make ‘music that people could have fun to’, it is impossible not to jump up and bounce along to their lively debut, ‘Mind Chaos’. Even so, remember that age-old saying, don’t judge a band by its hype… or something.
Amidst the energetic beat of opening track ‘Too Fake’, and unforgettable hook on recently released single ‘Song Away’, you find allusions to a wealth of vintage music all over the album. From the groovy funk bass line on ‘Work’, to Grubin’s effortless, Bob Dylan inspired vocals on the country-infused ‘Four Holy Photos’, Hockey venture out of the confines and rigid stereotype of so-called ‘dance music’, to produce a dynamic and innovative dance record.
What’s more, the witty, self-satirising undertone of the band’s lyrics adds to their irresistible charm: ‘I’m just too fake for the world; I know it’s just a game to me’. Hockey don’t take themselves too seriously, and that is a welcome break from the overwhelming pretension so prominent in the indie/new wave music scene today.
All that is left to do now then is to put on your dancing shoes, grab some friends, and turn ‘Mind Chaos’ up loud; and in the words of the band ‘This is, believe me, music’.
Whether you are just after an album bursting with infectious dance tracks or you want to uncover a band that isn’t afraid to revamp classic music genres, Oregon-based Hockey is the answer. Aiming to make ‘music that people could have fun to’, it is impossible not to jump up and bounce along to their lively debut, ‘Mind Chaos’. Even so, remember that age-old saying, don’t judge a band by its hype… or something.
Amidst the energetic beat of opening track ‘Too Fake’, and unforgettable hook on recently released single ‘Song Away’, you find allusions to a wealth of vintage music all over the album. From the groovy funk bass line on ‘Work’, to Grubin’s effortless, Bob Dylan inspired vocals on the country-infused ‘Four Holy Photos’, Hockey venture out of the confines and rigid stereotype of so-called ‘dance music’, to produce a dynamic and innovative dance record.
What’s more, the witty, self-satirising undertone of the band’s lyrics adds to their irresistible charm: ‘I’m just too fake for the world; I know it’s just a game to me’. Hockey don’t take themselves too seriously, and that is a welcome break from the overwhelming pretension so prominent in the indie/new wave music scene today.
All that is left to do now then is to put on your dancing shoes, grab some friends, and turn ‘Mind Chaos’ up loud; and in the words of the band ‘This is, believe me, music’.