In the hands of the experimental French heavy band HARPS, post-rock morphs into something new and fresh entirely. As a matter of fact, a whole host of other familiar musical concepts undergo transformation too. To be more specific, on their 2018 release ORDERINCHAOS, the band carves out a strikingly unique place for itself in part through liberal usage of long, drawn out riffing — and that’s just one part of their music.
Remarkably enough, overall, they present as a remarkably accessible outfit. Although they incorporate methods that to some may be bizarre, here, it feels like the band shows up those already fans of the bizarre more than they put radio rock listeners off. They’ve proven that something new in the experimental rock field CAN be done, silencing – metaphorically at least – any critics who would stand in their way or that of complex alt-heavy music as a whole.
The band’s presentation feels itself remarkably “cosmic” and forward feeling. Consciousness pervades that element of the band’s music. They’ve punctuated their riffing at times with samples of pronouncements from Carl Sagan hinting at the impending “doom” of humanity, but there’s more to it than just an aesthetic. They’ve taken the elongated song structures themselves and turned them outward, injecting them with tones decidedly and markedly forward looking. At the same time, though, they are willing to use more somber and reserved tones when the occasion calls for such a development. This unique sense in the band’s exploration of melody becomes more marked when used as a segway into straight up “hard rock” melodic riffing at certain points of ORDERINCHAOS. Each aforementioned element co-exists – peacefully, at that.
The record title itself seems to hint at what the band gets at. They cut through the middle of the chaos of the world – including that of its literal noise and in its music scenes – and that enact a sense of order. They don’t cut anything out; they just prove that they CAN be in control. Their method of doing so takes them through a smorgasbord of musical territories that turn synthesized perfectly with a traditionally heavy, forceful sense tying it all together.
5/5 Stars
Listen below, via Bandcamp
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