I’m
enjoying a lovely Saturday afternoon futzing about with music. I’ve done a
little music shopping (picked up the latest albums from the Chicks and Margo
Price), caught up on uploading a bunch of CDs, worked on some personalized
playlists of my own design and now this!
Disc 1388 is…. The
Gereg
Artist:
The Hu
Year of Release: 2019
What’s up with the
Cover? As band logos go, I
declare this one all kinds of cool.
How I Came To Know
It: I
saw a video for “Wolf Totem” and I knew I had to hear more of these guys.
How It Stacks Up: I only have one Hu
album, so it can’t really stack up. Pointy bits, scrolly edges and lots of
metallic sheen. Someone make this into a necklace!
Ratings: 4 stars but almost 5
What do you get when you cross traditional Mongolian throat singing with western
rock and roll? A kick-ass record, that’s what.
With “The Gereg,” the Hu have created a record loaded with restless
energy. A confluence of folk and rock that Gram Parsons couldn’t have imagined
in his wildest dreams. Welcome to the future of musical fusion.
In the wrong hands this musical crossover could feel gimmicky or
strained, but neither is the case on “The Gereg”. The record is the perfect mix
of traditional beats and rhythms, and rock riffs. The power and dread realized
in the throat singing loads every song wit a portentous energy. It feels epic
and powerful, the kind of stuff you play while storming an evil wizard’s castle
or lining up in a shield wall. Everything just sounds…heroic.
The music has a galloping energy that made me wish I had a car so I could
have the opportunity to turn it up and drive faster. Songs like “Wolf Totem”
thumps along with an inexorable momentum that you don’t listen to so much as you
are swept into. It’s a rolling earthquake of rock and roll.
The crossover of styles is perfect on “Shoog Shoog” which opens
with some traditional instrumentation (I am not familiar enough with Mongolian
folk instruments to know which, but it sounds like some kind of flute), that
gives way to chanting and then an absolutely dope bass line (again, not sure
what it is played on, but it sounds great). The full effect makes you feel like
you’re taking a 50 km turn at 90, and relying on centrifugal force and the gods
of rock to pull you through. They do.
The band is a four piece, each of whom plays a traditional Mongolian
instrument. Three of them throat sing, with only tovshuur player Temka
eschewing duties on that front. FYI a tovshuur is a Mongolian instrument similar
to a lute. Temka is damned good at it; obviously good enough that he gets a pass
on skipping out on the throat singing.
All of the vocals are in Mongolian, but it doesn’t take anything away from
the experience. The Hu have a great tone and their combined throat singing
gives a fresh twist on harmony which is compelling and intriguing. I recently
heard “Song of Women” with guest vocalist Lzzy Hale of Halestorm. It is
awesome to hear the song in translation and with her more soaring classic metal
style, but it is great either way. The liner notes come with side-by-side
original language and English translation, which helps you follow along if you
are so inclined (although the font is hard to read, if I were to quibble).
“The Gereg” is a revelation, and not only because it sounds so fresh to
my Western ears (although it does). This music is infectious and uplifting. It leans
forward from start to finish, but never loses its balance. “The Gereg” is the
Hu’s first album, and I can’t wait to hear what they do next.
Best tracks: The
Gereg, Wolf Totem, The Legend of Mother Swan, Shoog Shoog, Yuve Yuve Yu
1 comment:
We've been spinning this one quite a lot recently. The sense of movement and menace is palpable.
Their videos are also quite breathtaking.
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