ALBUM REVIEW: Part Of Being Human – Humans Etcetera
2022 marks the ten-year anniversary of HUMANS ETCETERA‘s formation. This is primarily a solo venture with China-based multi-instrumentalist Christopher Henry at the helm. With the ability to sing, as well as play guitar, bass, keyboard and drums, it is safe to say that Henry is not short on talent by any stretch of the imagination. It is also obvious that he has bags of imagination and creativity, as he is also a member of three other bands in the industry; FUCK YOUR BIRTHDAY, POLYPHOZIA and NIGHT TIDES.
Now onto their 11th studio album release, HUMAN ETCETERA are most definitely not planning on going anywhere anytime soon. Their brand new LP Part Of Being Human contains a total of eleven exciting experimental rock tracks, which is sure to draw any new and old listener in. Henry made sure he was fully involved in the creative process, recording and mixing each individual track himself, not to mention producing the album artwork – truly amazing.
The first track on Part Of Being Human is Trick In The Book, which starts off unexpectedly with a gentle, acoustic guitar riff before Henry‘s talent continues to shine through with the addition of his simplistic yet enticing vocals. In the midst of the song, we are thrown a curveball with some fascinating distorted synthesizers being added into the mix. By the end of the song you can really feel Henry‘s personal pain in his vocals. Off to a great start, Refund is up next and it features jarring musical styles that definitely take you by surprise on the first listen. Henry even attempts to change things up further with some rap-style vocals that just match the angst and passion of the song perfectly. Lovebirds begins with a DEFTONES-inspired riff before Henry‘s vocals kick in, making you truly wonder what’s to come. This is definitely an interesting mix of genres; beginning with true experimental rock and gradually shifting towards more of a shoegaze style, and the intertwinement of Henry and Lin Xiaoyang‘s vocals is just genius.
Consumed is another satisfying listen, with Henry incorporating almost break beat-style instrumentals into the mix as well as more rap-like vocals, it makes for most certainly one of the quickest two and a half minutes of our lives. Treelined starts off with an almost indie rock feel, which is another unexpected musical shift within the album. Bored is an exciting and fresh instrumental coming in at three minutes and 23 seconds. The progression within this song is just incredible, changing things up enough so you won’t start to feel bored and unfulfilled as a result. Ask Someone For Help is on a similar wavelength to what we have already heard in this album so far, yet it still feels current and different. No Reply contains some fantastic guitar work, probably some of the best on the release. In complete contrast, Gone is a lot heavier in places with some warped time signatures leading the way, as well as some more incredible vocals from Henry. This song literally sounds like a toned down version of THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and we love it.
All Tree No Bark instantly sounds as though it should be an ARCTIC MONKEYS B-side, with Henry‘s vocals even identical to Alex Turner at times. The final track is Gold Coast, which could be an inclination towards the famous Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. This song has a very calming aura throughout with Henry seemingly reminiscing on a past romantic relationship and subsequently regretting decisions he made when he was with his ex-lover in what makes for a fantastic ending.
If you are a complete novice in regards to HUMANS ETCETERA‘s music, you should be more than pleasantly surprised with the sheer quality and emotion portrayed in this body of work – it’s truly astonishing. We would highly recommend listening to this project if you are into more experimental genres of rock, as this will most definitely blow you away. The progression within this album is second to none. Combined with outstanding musicianship, HUMANS ETCETERA have most definitely put themselves back on the map.
Rating: 7/10
Part Of Being Human is set for release on September 30th via Nefarious Industries.
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