At a time when rock music is consistently lacking in the creativity department, even the slightest bit of originality can come as a breath of fresh air to the average listener. Such is the case with the Boston based rock quartet, Hummer, who recently released their aggressive debut album, "Premium."
"Premium" presents the listener with a fresh taste of the boundaries of rock music both from an instrumental and emotional perspective. Heavy on inventive guitar hooks, Hummer draws on any number of rock and pop influences to create their own gritty, intense style.
The album starts out with the expressive "Judy's Street," a tune which exposes deep Beatles influences. The song is focused around drummer Daniel Cantor's yearning, raspy vocals but reaches a new level during the first of several impressive guitar solos on the album.
The record's next two compositions, "Sweetly" and "Phoenix Rising," take the listener in a totally different direction entirely, introducing us to the schizofrenic nature of this release.
Highlighted by a dark and angry undertone, "Sweetly" uses thoughtful, ambivalent lyrics like "What's the point of even leaving when you know you're gonna stay?" to provoke conflict in the listener. Though the song starts out relatively mellow, a thick guitar solo by pyrotechnician Jonas Kahn shows that Hummer is just as strong on musicianship as they are on 70's rock energy.
While the first few tracks hit you with some hard driving guitar hooks, Hummer also show off their more sensitive side with some surprising acoustic guitar work.
"Worried Mind," the fourth cut on the album, proves that these guys are capable of truly beautiful ballads that are accessible to even the most dedicated rock fans.
Continuing on the musical journey that "Premium" soon becomes, the next few songs show off strong blues and alternative roots as well as the vocal prowess of bassist Stephen Mayone on the eerily expressive tune "Lifting".
"Face Down", probably the most pop-oriented song put forth by the band, showcases Hummer's solid singing and arranging ability.
One begins to wonder how a band can be so genuinely adept at so many different sub-genres of pop and rock music. The fact that they can do it in a fresh way is a testament to the serious musicianship present in this quartet, and it bodes well for their future as recording artists.
Emerging from the lighter middle section of the album, the final third of "Premium" returns Hummer to their powerful rock origins with songs like "Jack" and "Shine" being driven with airtight bass and guitar unison lines. Unfortunately it is at this point where the band's instrumental experimentation (baritone saxophones and a harmonica that is fully out of place) becomes more of a detriment than an indicator of originality.
Fortunately the final track, "Shine," redeems the few numbers that could have been left off of the release with a funky rock feel reminiscent of 90's neo-hippies The Spin Doctors.
Altogether Hummer shows great potential to appeal to a wide range of pop and rock audiences. Mayone and Cantor, who produced the album, also take credit for writing all of its songs. "Premium", with its exceptionally diverse repetoire, proves that all is not lost in the rock world, though Hummer may draw a little too closely from their 70's influences.
With this release, Hummer forcefully declare their presence on the rock scene as a band with superior musicianship and creativity that promises to move quickly into the national spotlight.
