Premiere: Hoax Hunters' Evocative "Transparency"

Richmond post-punk trio Hoax Hunters returns this week with a seven-song set of potent guitar music titled Clickbait, a collection stocked with lean arrangements, muscular rhythm playing and sumptuous guitar tone. The set was recorded in late July and early August at Richmond's Scott's Addition Sound, and six of the tracks were penned by fronter and guitarist (and noted photog) PJ Sykes. The centerpiece is the raging and breathless title track, a fiery and uptempo indictment -- thick with guitar distortion and marked by Mr. Sykes' incensed declamations -- that arrives at a spine-tingling, hard stop like a freight train plowing straight into the side of a mountain. While the EP is uniformly strong, it isn't all as ferocious. "Breakthrough" moderates the tempo, and Sykes reigns in his tenor for a more ruminative presentation, and the relatively -- relatively -- delicate "Transparency" ups both the restraint and the melodicism to deliver a tune fairly reminiscent of classic Versus. Clickbait cleverly closes with a recitation of the album credits during a song called "What Everybody Ought To Know About Clickbait," which, really, is an idea whose time has come, at least in the decontextualized digital music age.

We are pleased to be able to premiere for you today the aforementioned "Transparency," which you can stream via the Soundcloud embed at the foot of this item. The song is the closest thing to a ballad on the record, and the appealing high bend in the verse's guitar riff picks at the scab of a formidable nostalgia for things as sweet and timeless as Bettie Serveert's triumph Palomine or the aforementioned Versus' The Stars Are Insane. Cherub Records releases Clickbait as a digital download Friday via its Bandcamp page, where pre-orders are already being taken for five American dollars. 25 fans are able to purchase Clickbait bundled with a bumper sticker supporting an apparent 2016 presidential run by the EP and/or its title track, which, depending on your chosen political party, either is or describes your strongest candidate; those that pre-order Clickbait will also receive an unspecified bonus track. An online performance celebrating the short set is being planned, but in the meantime Sykes fêtes the EP with a solo set Thursday night at the fifth installment of Richmond venue Strange Matters' Locals Only series. Also on the bill are Among The Rocks & Roots, Lou Breeders and Antelope King, and full deets for the night are right here. We last wrote about Hoax Hunters here almost a year ago, on the occasion of the release of the band's terrific cover of The Dambuilders' "Smooth Control." Hoax Hunters' debut LP Comfort & Safety was released in August 2014 [review].

Hoax Hunters: Bandcamp | Facebook | Tumblaaaaaaah

Premiere: Hoax Hunters Unveil Dambuilders Covers Project, Mini Doc Lauds Bygone Boston Phenoms

There's a bumper sticker about being old and having seen all the cool bands. Maybe you've seen it. In our mind the saying applies more to the generations above our own; our aunt mentions having seen Janis Joplin, and that seems like, you know, something. But we guess we've seen some stuff, and we have very fond memories of seeing a few Dambuilders shows in the mid-'90s, circa the release of the band's triumphant major label debut Encendedor!. We recall in particular an amazing show with The Grifters in Bethlehem, PA; that act was touring its Crapping You Negative LP and Dambuilders violinist Joan Wasser jumped onstage with the (recently busy) lads from Memphis for at least one song and had electrifying chemistry up there with the band -- a bonus on top of Dambuilders' own amazing set. We're put into the frame of mind to reminisce over such things by a delightful mini documentary put together by Hoax Hunters guitarist and noted photog PJ Sykes; we are premiering the film today atop this jumble of words. We are also exceedingly chuffed to premiere one of two covers recorded as part of the apparently Dambuilders-approved project, namely Richmond shoegazers Snowy Owls' collaboration with scenemates Positive No on a beautifully icy iteration of the Boston-by-way-of-Honolulu act's tremendous "Shrine." Bouncy and irresistibly hooky in its original incarnation, Snowy Owls and Positive No's version burns slowly, brightly, its subdued vocals and snare drum cracks shrouded in a soft haze of bending and saturated guitar. If anything, the slower tempo makes the track even more beautiful, and we encourage you to stream it via the embed below.

Those in the know know that Hoax Hunters' cover contribution to the project was already premiered last week over at the fine ChunkyGlasses publication. If you happened to miss it, well, we've got you covered. You can hear the Richmond post-punkers' explosive take on Dambuilders' "Smooth Control," the lead track from the band's 1995 set Ruby Red, via the embed below as well. The mini doc features footage of Hoax Hunters -- abetted for this outing by former Ted Leo bandmate Marty Key and highly touted vocalist Anousheh -- tracking the song at Scott's Addition Sound in Richmond. That performance footage is of the classic early '80s MTV variety, the sort of stuff we eat up, and we think you will enjoy seeing Hoax Hunters absolutely burn the tune down as the tape rolls under the record head. The mini doc allows that Dambuilders weren't as widely regarded as some of the current crop of reuniting acts, but we think the proof of their greatness is in the songs; excellent songs are excellent whether or not the teeming masses pay heed. And Dambuilders wrote way more than their share, including "Smell", "Colin's Heroes," and "Mississippi" -- those are just the first that come to mind, and should give folks just turning on to the band some things to hunt down. Hoax Hunters' "Smooth Control" and Snowy Owls/Positive No's "Shrine" are available for purchase as a digital download via the Cherub Records Bandcamp for two big American dollars right here, so after you watch the mini doc and stream the tunes via the Soundcloud embed below, click over and buy that jawn.



Hoax Hunters: Bandcamp | Facebook | Internerds
Snowy Owls: Bandcamp | Facebook | Internerds

Related Coverage:
Video Premiere: Hoax Hunters' Fiery Fireball "Erase"
Review: Hoax Hunters | Comfort & Safety
Today's Hotness: The Snowy Owls
Review: The Snowy Owls | Within Yr Reach EP

Video Premiere: Hoax Hunters' Fiery Fireball "Erase"

Last month Senior Writer Edward Charlton made a strong case in these electronic pages here that Hoax Hunters' multidimensional fireball "Erase" was the Richmond post-hardcore trio's most compelling composition to date. Here's the whole quote: "The standout track -- which apparently features "homemade electric dulcitar" from a guest player -- combines an experimental sound-collage introduction, a quick-burning hardcore song, and an extended, searing coda (which talks the listener down from the intensity of the previous numbers) to create what is perhaps Hoax Hunters' most compelling composition to date. The chorus' dynamic, shout-along chant channels both the rage and joy that these guys bring to their music. "You. Can. Not. Erase," Sykes proclaims -- the final declaration that the hard work and values of those within a scene will live on, again and again."

Presenting the tune live would seem to present myriad challenges given the collaged opening minute and distinct movements, but we think the video above is proof of a challenge met. Doubled-down upon, even, as instead of the recorded version's opening minute of ambient noise and feedback, fronter P.J. Sykes and band -- here abetted by a gentlemen named Dave Watkins -- open the tune with more than two minutes of feedback, coaxed by hands hammering the backs of guitar necks. Then, after delivering a passionate, fiery iteration of the tune, Hoax Hunters return it from whence it came, ashes to ashes, a conflagration of feedback hungrily devouring the song, until all that is left is Mr. Sykes and his guitar hanging off the front of his amplifier like an astronaut hopelessly clinging to the exterior of her spacecraft. It's quite a video. The performance was filmed at the release show for Hoax Hunters' debut LP Comfort & Safety, which was held Aug. 8 at Gallery 5 in Richmond, VA. The trio recently performed at Raleigh's Hopscotch Festival, and its next show is Sept. 28 in Richmond with The Awesome Few. Comfort & Safety can be purchased from the also Raleigh-based label Negative Fun right here. New music is apparently already in the offing.

Review: Hoax Hunters | Comfort & Safety

Richmond threesome Hoax Hunters with its debut long-player has created an expansive, divergent set of punk-worshipping monoliths, each tune shaping an American post-hardcore lineage into formalized and nostalgic architectural shapes. The electrifying new set, Comfort & Safety, firmly establishes the trio as a noisy, squalling force, one that is both more informed and more nubile [HEY NOW -- Ed.] than many of its peers.

Hoax Hunters has been a fixture slowly rising up from the RVA scene for several years; it released a split single with Richmond dream-pop luminaries The Snowy Owls in early 2013. Long before the creation of the band, fronter and guitarist P.J. Sykes built a reputation as a go-to music photographer, relentlessly and selflessly documenting the local indie rock scene, and having work featured in Spin Magazine, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post and elsewhere. Mr. Sykes has also contributed photographs to a slew of highly regarded albums from Clicky Clicky faves including legends Superchunk and Versus. Unsurprisingly, Sykes' connected-ness within the mid-Atlantic music scene is the source of one of Comfort & Safety's strongest, defining traits: his love for currently overlooked post-hardcore standard-bearers from the mid-to-late-'80s Dischord stable -- groups like Rites of Spring, Gray Matter, Three and early Fugazi -- is reflected in his songwriting. These aforementioned bands moved punk into broader, more melodic, "mathy," and noisy territory, and to this reviewer their contributions at times seem overshadowed by trendier names and louder personalities. Hoax Hunters, however, honors these deeper and deeply important roots of the American underground, and casts their sounds and ideals within a modern framework, much like contemporary beloved and buzzed smashers Metz and Hausu.

Hoax Hunters' connection to The Snowy Owls is also illuminating. While far from a shoegazer outfit, Sykes and co. interestingly mix the vocals quite low, a move that emphasizes the shifting lead and rhythm patterns, which come courtesy of The Snowy Owls' drummer James O'Neill. Mr. O'Neill's drums bash loudly, and his great tom work is heavily foregrounded on Hoax Hunters' buzz-sawing rocker "Volume" and its tense thriller "Riskless Business." Clever studio trickery throughout injects interesting depth and dimension to Comfort & Safety and varies from song to song. Single "Breathe" utilizes swirling flange and panning in its opening moments to tasteful effect, and Sykes' various vocal filters here and elsewhere supply a subtly grit to the proceedings. Like many classic albums, these production methods give Hoax Hunters' debut a kineticism that accretes across the record toward album highlight and de facto closer "Erase." The standout track -- which apparently features "homemade electric dulcitar" from a guest player -- combines an experimental sound-collage introduction, a quick-burning hardcore song, and an extended, searing coda (which talks the listener down from the intensity of the previous numbers) to create what is perhaps Hoax Hunters most compelling composition to date. The chorus' dynamic, shout-along chant channels both the rage and joy that these guys bring to their music. "You. Can. Not. Erase," Sykes proclaims -- the final declaration that the hard work and values of those within a scene will live on, again and again.

Comfort & Safety was released last week on vinyl and as a digital download (sorry, no CDs, retro futurists!). Raleigh's Negative Fun is selling the LP (the very first to be offered by the label), and it is for sale right here. Richmond-based Cherub Records is handling the digital download sales, and if that is more to your taste, this is where you want to be. Stream the entire set via the Bandcamp embed below. -- Edward Charlton

Hoax Hunters: Bandcamp | Facebook | Internerds