It’s difficult to come up with a succinct label for some bands. Honshu Wolves from Bern, Switzerland, is one of those bands. The band’s sound is described as “delta blues desert gospel space punk”. Admittedly, it’s a bit of a mouthful, but it is a pretty good description of what this band does. In fact, that description may not even be a complete one.
On the new album Cosmic Creature Capture, the band doesn’t present a collection of songs as much as a sonic experience that could assist you on a journey to the center of the mind.
The album begins with “Something’s in the Air”. There is definitely a spacey vibe to this song, but it also has a trashy and sort of spooky feel similar to The Creeping Ivies.
You get a taste of the blues aspect of the band in “Won’t Let Fear in”. It comes through especially in the guitar part of the instrumental break. Overall, this feels a lot like an indie rock band trying out some blues sounds.
As you continue through the album, it becomes easy to envision this album as the soundtrack to a performance art piece. “Last Night” is a good example. As you hear this song, it’s easy to imagine the band in front of some psychedelic visual background like Jefferson Airplane in “White Rabbit”. The same can be said about “Goddess”, which contains the provocative lyrics, “turning wine into crystal water, having sex with Jesus’ daughter.”
This whole album is a curveball, but perhaps the biggest curveball comes in “AHA”. That’s not because this song is so far out there that you don’t know what to do with it. Rather, the subdued melody and the catchy beat make this sound like a French pop song from the 60s, and that is what makes this song so surprising. After seven songs that don’t adhere to any sort of musical standard, the band shows it’s perfectly capable of a pop song.
On one hand, this album might be the perfect soundtrack for an altered state. On the other hand, the psychedelic sounds and the unpredictability of the vibe from one song to the next might cause you to freak out. Frankly, there’s only one way to find out – if you’re so inclined. If not, the album is interesting enough that any “enhancement” isn’t necessary.
