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Island Mele John Berger |
The Hellbound Hounds have paid their dues with low-profile club gigs. Now they're poised to shake up local rock as recording artists with this impressive debut album. All the songs are originals, and the quintet of Nate Verdugo, Kyle Miyamoto, Joel Tokunaga, Matt Bennett and Kyle "2Ply" Plyler writes with imagination. Verdugo's lyrics are filled with dark images of dysfunctional relationships, violent sex, social alienation and life under the influence of various substances. The detail work in the music brings together ideas from diverse genres such as surf rock, modern punk and the blues. "Bound"
Hellbound Hounds
Hellbound Sounds"Where's My Cat" and "I Know What I Want" are two of the standout songs, but this is dark, high-intensity fun throughout. The band appears to be bound for bigger markets and, perhaps, even the national pop charts.
hellboundhounds.com
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"The Hidden"
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Nightlife is a group that has something special going, as long as Rell Pan and Faith Villanueva are singing. Their voices blend in ways that suggest a cross between Patience & Prudence and Sistah Sistah, with a touch of Christina Amphlett of the Divinyls -- sweet, seductive and potentially commercial. All songs on this eponymous album are originals written by the group and producer Hutchi Boy-E, but Villanueva is the group's most polished lyricist. "Nightlife"
Nightlife
SkrapYardWhen the women aren't front and center, it's a different story. The arrangements are mostly either generic pop or Jawaiian lite, and the lyrics are often on the level of earnest middle-school love notes. Drummer Keoki Van Orden has rocked with other groups, but never gets a chance to cut loose here. The reliance on tinny synth tracks as sonic filler adds to the feeling that this is intended more as a memento for friends and family rather than a marketable album.
Write to:
Aloha Music International
269 Pali'i Street
Mililani HI 96789
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Six local artists are credited as being featured in this attractively packaged anthology, but with the exception of a chanted intro by Charles Ka'upu on "Kona Winds," and hints of John Cruz's distinctive voice on the backing tracks for "Island Style," this is, in fact, a two-man project by producers Reggie Griffin and Moon Brown. Both men play sax, and that's the instrument featured throughout. Between the two of them, they also play or simulate almost every other instrument as well. There's no sense of interaction between the duo and the other musicians -- the latter are bit players at most. "Smooth Island Jazz"
Various artists
Quiet StormThe results are pleasant and certainly commercial, but rarely connect as jazz. Smooth jazz fans may find this of interest, but anyone who wants a jazz-sax version of "Naturally" should look to Michael Paulo, the guy who refined the song's sax lines with Kalapana almost 30 years ago.
quietstorm.com
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See the Columnists section for some past reviews.
John Berger, who has covered the local entertainment scene since 1972, writes reviews of recordings produced by Hawaii artists. See the Star-Bulletin's Today section on Fridays for the latest reviews. Contact John Berger at jberger@starbulletin.com.
