Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Hoax Program, The
Label: ZARŠ Records
Release: 2011
Runtime: 28:23
Rating: 4.2/5
The Hoax Program are a great band from the Ajdovščina area, basically everything that’s left of the former Low Punch. Delivering a hefty dose of rumbling, this quintet of seasoned musicians, who’ve racked up some serious mileage in past musical adventures, has just served up their freshly released debut “II”.
In their musical groove, The Hoax Program build a wild exterior that’s the culmination of fusing the basic building blocks of the dirtiest rock n’ roll, so lovers of Motorhead and stoner burnout will perk up their ears. There are even some stoner-flavored crossovers with the excellent Americans Clutch, as well as the occasional merciless frying on a proper old-school N.Y. hardcore platter. On top of it all lies an unbearably screechy (“unbearably” is the required attribute for this direction and a welcome discovery for the band) punk noiser vocal, which in its rawness could, on the flip side of the same story, easily have a role on some prehistoric album by the creators of German Teutonic thrash, Destruction. So a musical oddball is born. The opening of the album with Devil Is My Friend sums up most of what was described in the previous sentences. The burnout rock n’ roll flavor in the overall feel and the outer shape of the vibe it creates can win over even the more demanding gourmets, the kind who like to listen to Voivod, say. But careful now. Don’t go looking for Einstein here. Let’s stay on the basic platform of rock n’ roll potency.
It’s only 28 minutes of rumbling and droning across eleven tracks, but that doesn’t mean you won’t climb out of the ring after listening soaked through, properly scratched up, and very likely in need of first aid from the nearest ear, nose and throat doctor. No philosophy, no overthinking, just naked, stripped-down, merciless dirty rock n’ roll drive, landing direct hooks straight to the forehead, you fool! The guys prove that they totally get the essence of rock n’ roll at its most primal, and so they know how to dive convincingly into the heart of its core and squeeze the maximum expression out of the magic card of “rock”. Cranked up, distorted, and bolted to a dangerously rolling undercarriage of drum pounding.
The unstoppable rage in the lyrics naturally touches on the woes of the little guy facing the injustices most of us deal with, all to satisfy the greedy asses of a stingy minority (one well protected by “legal decrees”), who convince us that this is good for everyone (the first group as well as the second). How much longer are we going to put up with this?
The solos are gone. Still, the transitions are carefully fitted throughout with extra guitar passages, which brings in the necessary amount of dynamics. Define The Routine is a typical example, where the guitar deliberately airs out the empty space that opens up between the cocky shouting and the rolling of the drums. Of course, the basic agitation of The Hoax Program’s expression comes from an extraordinary noisiness, from which you can instantly distill authenticity and an incredibly genuine commitment, without a shred of faking the personal ID cards of this exceptionally interesting quintet.
A band with the tangible essence of its own original sermon, serving up a lot in a short 28 minutes! In the groove The Hoax Program cultivate, in the minimalism and the trivially simple definition of rock n’ roll basics, they serve up a wildly sparkling, varied bunch of lead guitar phrases across the songs, so any thought of “copy-paste” syndrome on the album is completely unnecessary and therefore pointless! For everyone who hangs out with the real, endlessly arrogant kind of difference in rock n’ roll, getting to know the music of The Hoax Program is required reading. And what makes it even nicer is the fact that it’s Slovenes doing it so vividly and authentically! Sincere thanks go this time also to the label of Radio Študent, whose label work makes it possible for a wider crowd (often completely bare and unaware in the musical sense) of Slovenian folks to face off with such elementary rock destructiveness!
Lineup
Dean Gnezda – vocals
Radovan Lozej – guitar
Jani Jež – guitar
Ivo Lozej – bass
David Stibilj – drums
Production
The Hoax Program
Track list
1. Devil Is My Friend
2. Saints And Martyrs
3. From Feudalism To Capitalism
4. The Melody Of Revolt
5. Define The Routine
6. Taking Shit In A Suit
7. Logos Et Chaos
8. No Remorse
9. Blissfully Ironic
10. Sticksnap
11. Water
