Mexico’s Hypnos Mx play a unique blend of post-rock and what sounds quite simply like their own personal and cultural experiences on their newest album Vitral, available January 25. The band members clearly have something substantive to say, meaning that at a core, basic level, they’ve truly tapped into what makes distinctive good music stand out. They don’t sound like they’re trying to be anything other than themselves, a beautiful feature worthy of appreciation.
The band don’t stop with expressing themselves however — they also sound like they invite the listener along for a journey. Vitral‘s journey is grounded, but still, it takes the listener from a familiar, perhaps sour emotional state into an alternate universe that’s apparently been hanging right here in front of us the whole time — we just needed music like Vitral to light the way.
Thanks to the nature of their songs’ construction, while laying down guideposts for the listener’s journey with their music, the songs almost feel like a “choose your own adventure” story where you yourself are the main character. Hypnos Mx perfectly hit the mark between “telling” the listener everything and letting them explore and discover new horizons for themselves. All along the way, thanks to the strong and comprehensible song construction, the band members feel like knowing tour guides, who’ve orchestrated this journey while allowing for discovery on the part of its participants.
Allowing for this journey, their sound features mostly instrumental tracks with a strong element of complex but inviting percussion and occasionally instruments that don’t often make an appearance in rock, like something of the brass family. These core elements of the music contribute to the music’s substance, and ensure that even while listening, the band’s creations do not fade into obscurity. Their music is definitely not ambient or a soundscape to simply drift away in, however fitting that may be at times — instead, this music feels engaging, to the point where it almost feels like it comes to life itself and is sitting alongside you like a knowing friend. The fact that Hypnos Mx could accomplish that mostly without even any vocal work is impressive.
5/5 Stars
Check out a single off Vitral below. Preorders are live on Amazon, Google Play, and iTunes (at least in Mexico).
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