ALBUM REVIEW: Postcard From A Living Hell – RedHook
Aussie quartet REDHOOK are experts at doing a lot with very little; their debut single alone was enough to get them invited to play Download in the UK, then sold out multiple dates of their debut headline tour back home. In fact, they’ve done so much – including four headline runs and starting their own gender diversity inspired festival – that it’s no wonder they haven’t found the time to release a debut album until now. But, finally, Postcard From A Living Hell is set to find its way into the world five years on from that first single.
Tentatively termed ‘alt rock’, REDHOOK are ultimately only under that banner because their sound sprawls round so many different different scenes under the rock umbrella it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly where it is. Pop rock, nu-metal, hardcore; all that and more finds room in at least one song each throughout. It’s a scattergun approach that doesn’t stick every single landing, but when it does, they prove just how vibrant the alternative scene in Australia is and that it deserves far more attention than it gets. Even the moments that don’t entirely work deserve credit for trying so much and being so willing to push as many directions as they could, particularly on a debut album.
Kicking off the album with thumping drums and a churning riff is Postcard Xo; vocalist Emmy Mack is a powerhouse right from the get go, with grit in the verses and a knack for earworm hooks through the choruses. Following it up is the smash hit Jabberwocky that runs in a similar pop rock vein though the guitar work veers into modern metalcore heft at times, as does the breakdown where Mack reveals she’s more than capable of unleashing some scorching screams, along with on the opening salvo of Off With Your Head.
Postcard From A Living Hell is laced through with relatable themes and lyrics, such as latest single Imposter that features Australia’s hottest pop-punk export YOURS TRULY’s vocalist Mikaila Delgado. On it, Delgado and Mack trade lyrical barbs about a relationship based on lies as the other person turns out not to be who they claimed to be; it’s arguably one of the best songs on the album in its sheer catchiness and potential for mammoth singalongs. It also leans hardest into pop-punk and pop rock territories, with its stratospheric energy levels sure to be a live favourite.
As mentioned, it doesn’t all work; the rap influences on Off With Your Head don’t quite land, Soju comes across as a little too twee in its attempt to portray rebellion, and Psych Vs. Psych isn’t the slam dunk of a hardcore, rap-rock rager it tries to be, but REDHOOK quickly redeem themselves with Low Budget Horror and its driving rhythm section and Mack’s manic vocal performance. The trifecta of An Intervention, Inarticulate and SAY close the album on a high with plenty of memorable hooks whether they be guitar, synth or sung, and while the album has its weaker moments, REDHOOK hit far more often than they miss and their star is only going to rise higher.
Rating: 7/10
Postcard From A Living Hell is set for release on April 21st via self-release.
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