Black Hats – Austerity For The Hoi Polloi (Review)
Review: Black Hats – Austerity For The Hoi Polloi
Having written, deleted, and re-written this review several times over, trying desperately to avoid any kind of bias, I’ve settled on a fairly analytical approach.
You see, having shot these guys live several times, filming an acoustic video at one of their shows, taking some behind the scenes shots at one of their video shoots, and being the photographer responsible for their current press shot, somehow makes me the resident Black Hats expert here at Lights Go Out… So obviously when we get sent a copy of their new album (or mini-album at 6 tracks), it falls on my shoulders to do the review, yet it also lends itself to me being pretty biased.
For those that trust my opinion (of which there are relatively few of you), let me just start by saying, at just £5, this collection of songs is well worth the money.
Black Hats are either an indie band with hints of ska-punk, or a punk band with hints of ska and indie. The songs have the intelligent songwriting that tends to go with indie music, and the energy that you can find in a good punk band, all wrapped up in a radio friendly kind of sound. I think I’d call it “Intelligent Pop-Punk For Grown-ups”.
I’ve recently written about how Lights Go Out isn’t the place for an indie band, so I fully expect to be called out on this, but the fact is, I’m a punk fan. Put on an indie record and chances are it’ll bore me to death, same as it does for most of the readership. Black Hats are different enough for me to believe much of the audience here will enjoy the music.
“You Make Us What We Are” is a great start to the album, with a cool guitar riff leading into a nice solid example of the the intelligent arrangements and bass lines which are offered throughout. The following tracks “Death By Record” and “Blood And Space”, whilst still great songs, are possibly the weakest on the album. I believe that they are newer versions of some older songs, so maybe it’s the experience and improved songwriting showing through a touch. They’re great songs, but just don’t seem to live up to the standard set by the opener. The final three songs on the album, are in my opinion, all fantastic. Impossible View possibly being my favourite, and also shows off the electronics which until this point have been a little more subdued, and used mainly to support the main instruments, but are now being used to create their own part of the arrangement. “Just Fall” continues the sound/feeling that’s been set by “Impossible View”, and the final track “Kick In The Doors” (their last single) leaves you wanting more, just like any closer of a great album should.
Black Hats have set a dangerous precedent with this record, simply because it’s full of great songwriting that’s going to be hard to beat. The songs haven’t just been written, and recorded. They’ve been crafted into the best they can be, and produced to a standard much higher than most self-recorded records. They might be indie, but give them a chance and they’ll no doubt win you over.
The album is available now on iTunes, and Amazon, but if you’re not sure, you can listen for yourself on their Reverb Nation page: http://www.reverbnation.com/theblackhats or even better, go see them live, and pick up a proper copy directly from them.
Review (and photos) by Chris Blizzard. Check out Chris’s photo site here: http://chrisblizzardphoto.com/
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