15 October 2023

HANFORD FLYOVER- Source (2023, CD/lathe-cut Fruits de Mer Records)

RELEASE INFO:

Label: Fruits de Mer Records

Format: LP, Album, Limited Edition, Lathe-Cut

Format: CD, Album, Limited Edition

Release Date: 11 Oct 2023

Hanford Flyover is a British-American duo, their debut album “Hanford Tape Sessions” which was released in 2021 through Fruits de Mer Records, made a special impression on us (check our review here) and of course on many others around the globe. Hanford Flyover is Josh Bowler from the UK, and Holly Bowler, who was born and raised in Kentucky, and they mix elements of psychedelia, rock, electronica, and folk to create a unique sound. Josh takes his influences from artists such as Hendrix, The Doors, Black Sabbath, and The Small Faces, through to The Beta Band, Air, and the B-52s; Holly’s background was immersed in folk, blues, rock, gospel, and bluegrass; it’s the combination of these diverse influences that shaped her vocal styles and laid the foundation that gives Hanford Flyover such a strong identity.

Hanford Flyover’s sophomore “Source” album is a CD release, although the label is also going to produce a very limited number of lathe-cut vinyl LPs, with edited versions of the CD tracks.
“Source” consists of 8 tracks with a total duration of 45:49 minutes. The opener “Shadows On The Sun” is quite rhythmic, a catchy tune, full of power-pop sunshine with dynamic female vocals emerging a strong 80s Girl-Pop-Group aura that at times reminds me of Susanna Hoffs and her band, Bangles… The next one “Shallow Waters” is a very impressive song – among my personal favorites for sure – it combines a killer-bass rhythm under a Groovylicious Organ and beautifully clear 80s-inspired female vocals, there are Spacey-Pop effects all over with a great guitar outburst solo, making you wonder what if New Order had a female singer during the 2^nd half of the 80s… Wow! You can simply think of Go Go’s meet Bangles under a New Order vein!!! “Neutrino” is a mid-tempo tune with a cool melody provided by the super-delic Keys, this is an 80s synth-pop-inspired track that finally turns into a guitar-pop flirting song… The melodic “This Is Now” follows, Synth-Pop oriented with (once more) a strong and intense 80s feel/touch, although this time Shirley Manson and Garbage come to mind (instead of an 80s female band), maybe this is just my imagination, you see the lack these days of imposing new female voices leads me (rightly or wrongly) to this ‘comparisons’… “Formless” is another cool tune, its sensational Synth-based start with the kind of robotic vocals somehow reminds the Stranger Things theme, a track that from being a futuristic Pop tune is transformed into an 80s Synth-Pop MTV regular! With “Firefly”, the band flirts with Pop-Psych, a hot 90s Indie guitar sound with a stunning (and killer once more) bass line! Under a Spacey-effected motive, “Golden” starts, there are male vocals mixed with female ones, this is another Pop-Psych tune, 80s inspired, though the electric guitar ‘places’ the track in the mid-Indie 90s, a song that is trying to enter the Psych side of Pop music… Eventually, the album comes to an end with another personal favorite, “Entropy” is a fantastic track that slowly but steadily enters deeper into a Psych-er Pop world, there’s an electric guitar that shines all over with its shimmering spacey effects, a track that dares to knock on the door of some early 90s Grunge! Wow… So, “Source” is a very good and stunning album, full of quality Pop-Psych music, that for sure is going to make you reminisce about the ’85-’95 decade… Give it a try… TimeLord Michalis