Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Hulahoop
Label: Glasbeni društvo Anavrin
Release: 2015
Running time: 42:35
Rating: 4.5/5
Hulahoop are a fresh-faced young band: two girls and two guys. Their sound is built on rhythmic funk kinetics, deepened by a dynamic bass component that makes enviable use of the space available within the structure of each track. The all-pervading musicality, contrastingly delivered by the bass lines and synths, rests on light, dance-swinging drum rhythms. The thick, rolling waves of synths, over which snippets of the female vocals often float, take their cue from the sound of the eighties »new wave« era. The bulk of the album is driven by a female voice that is, for such a young band, strikingly confident, authoritative, piercing and colorfully flexible, with no shortage of expressive soul charge either.
Plenty of people will probably shrug and say: »Where the hell is the guitar?« And at moments it really does feel like a rock guitar phrase here and there wouldn’t hurt, but on the other hand, the contrasting weave created by the sonic clash of the warm-hearted bass line, the shrill, shimmering curtains of airy synths – which are also replaced by piano (Paritveni ples) – and the aforementioned energetic vocal contribution, is more than enough. The songs simply stand on their own.
Even in terms of variety in the arrangements, »The Best Of« surprises with its quality. Quality considering that the musicians are really young and that we’re talking about a studio debut. As mentioned, the band most loves to flirt with funk kinetics across the album, but it also has elements of jazz, soul, R&B and even cabaret chanson, so »The Best Of« never gets boring. Of course, hovering over all of this is the album’s infectious pop appeal, which potentially puts it within reach of heavy radio rotation.
»The Best Of« is a lightly varied album. It feels remarkably fluid, concise and compact, with creative moves that effectively exploit the basic axiom of »less is more«. The lyrics are a mix of English and Slovenian, and Hulahoop stay convincing in both. Even though the album doesn’t hide its yearning for commercial success, the band’s big plus (right from the starting point of its musical career) is that the compositions are rooted in stylistic and sonic originality. Nurturing precisely that could really take the band far within Slovenian mainstream music in the future. Let’s hope they stick to this approach and keep developing along the lines of healthy evolution. This is a very talented bunch, and their own artistry could swing the doors wide open to commercial success.
Line-up
Eva Traven – vocals
Monika Klobučar – keyboards
MArko Klobučar – bass guitar
Anže Burja – drums and percussion
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Matic Fortuna – saxophone on track no. 7
Miha Erič – harmonica on track no. 9
Production
Anej Kočevar
Tracklist
1. Enter Denis Matirca
2. Dripping Magic
3. Paritveni ples
4. When I Got Bored
5. Gozdna vila
6. Kozmočud
7. Zbogom
8. Šelestenje
9. Ko bom velika
10. Sorry Baby
11. Bonbonus
12. Poor Boy
