From Fukuoka Japan, Hyacca are an incredibly exciting band. Their most recent effort Hanazono is a perfect high-kick of ripped rnr and driving psych-punk. There is, like many recent bands emerging from the Japanese underground, a whirlwind blend of genres at play that end up transcending the idioms into something sublime, earnest and tight as shit. The only referent I can drop here contextually would be J-Punk demi-legends Friction, infused with splashes of Devo and throw in some ESG meets Minutemen grooves, but with screaming, interlocking contrapuntal guitar runs over top. But even better than that, Hyacca is just sick.. they are the kind of band that can win over any crowd and get them dancing, but also the type of band you turn to your friends and mouth the words “Holy shit!!” when they unleash their considerable energy in a live setting.
“34 DANCE” is the opener, the riff salvo a volley of shrieking, weirdly arpeggiating guitar melodies kick the tune off. Rolling rhythm, echoey breakdowns punctuate off kilter time breaks, suddenly modulating up a step before bringing the hard as nails opening riff back in and turning it into a high gear jammed out electric fugue. The pace is relentless from then, all 26 minutes of the record blurring by in sprays of blast-beats, male/female vocals that are always on point and delivered hard as nails, and completely twisted breakdowns. The end of “オリンピック” feels like it’s actually pulling your brain-halves apart.. things keep getting weirder and more processed, the next tune “AFLAK” barely holds the form up, so precariously is it balanced on sheer catharsis and artful screaming. “チャーリー” is an entrancing proggy number that wouldn’t sound out of place on an 80-s era King Crimson release. A tempo down-shift on “YA SU KU NI” blends sublime guitar noise squalls over a slow burn psychedelic line singed by giant squalling tone-sweeps. The one-to-five simplicity gives your brain a pause before everything gets intense and crazy on the pounding penultimate closer “HANAZONO”. The final tune, “ストレス” is a deliriously happy swan song. Melodic consonance smashes up into timbral dissonance and the screaming refrain needs no translation, and turns things on a deep hinge, whipping the listener out into a blissful sunset. These guys are true believers and incredibly skilled players, with Hanazono pointing the way for willing ears and honestly would upstage just about every band in town, should you be lucky enough to see them live.
