reviewed by Michael Thomas
Hill & the Sky Heroes describe their genre of music as “alien surf rock.” At first I thought that couldn’t possibly make sense, but it turns out it kind of does. I’ll get to that.
The “Hill” part of the band has apparently been cutting her teeth playing with a whole bunch of acts, including such talents as Saidah Baba Talibah, Martha & the Muffins and the Weeknd, to name a few. But now her band is ready to kick it up a notch.
With such a majestic name (“Sky Heroes” made me think of Spyro the Dragon for some reason) you might expect a soaring pop symphony. But not so. When a band calls themselves “alien surf rock,” you’re going to damn well get alien surf rock.
So what the hell is it, anyways? Well, a few of the songs on this EP start with keyboard notes that sound like the sound of an alien approaching in an old sci-fi film. Once the songs gets going though, you can expect some very dance-able bass groove and some cool guitar.
Despite the weird sci-fi vibe to the album, all of the songs are about love in some form. “The Moon” is a simple song about envy, expressed in not so subtle terms (one line goes “I’m jealous of the girl sittin’ on your face”). You can expect the aforementioned bass groove and interspersed guitar.
“Blind as the Light in the Night,” besides having a cool internal rhyme, is a slightly slower song, which also seems to be about love but ends up sounding a little twisted.
“My Little Runaway” is a song sure to get people dancing at a show. The rhythm is frantic and the guitar is at is best here. It’s also quite playful, such as when Hill sings “What’s that I saw?/Je ne comprends pas.”
The EP ends with “Doctor, Doctor” which sounds like a breakup song, but knowing this band, it’s not typical sappy fluff. The echo-y vocals give the song a surreal feeling, making for a good ending.
Hill & the Sky Heroes are to release a full-length album on June 12th of this year, so we’ll see what this band does. This EP is a solid start, though.
Top Track: “The Moon”
Rating: Strong Hoot (Good)
