Reviews: Hunter Gatherer - Low Standards For High Fives
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Scene It All (http://sceneitall.net)
The first thing I noticed when I listened to Hunter Gatherer was the combination harmonies of two singers. It was interesting with the rough vocals laced with smooth vocals, and it isn't just back up vocals for the Chorus'. The band uses the two vocalists simultaneously all throughout the first song which is a fairly interesting approach that I haven't heard too much of. I wouldn't call them hardcore and I wouldn't call them punk or emo either, but they lie somewhere in-between all those lines. Multiple influences are apparent and the song structures differ from most hardcore emo/emocore songs. They have a sound that pays homage to older hardcore bands.
Hunter Gatherer reminds me a little bit of Hot Water Music and they happen to be on the same label. Engineer Records homes many of these older styled bands so they fit right in. The opening track "And Now You've Moved On" has a nice blend of vocals. The dirty distortion matches the rough vocals while the other vocalist keeps it interesting. The album isn't really long and most the songs are around 3 minutes which help keep the album, " Low Standard For High Fives", from getting boring and drawn out.
This album is a good one to have for anyone who is a fan of older style hardcore. They stay true the roots and actually seem to be completely devoid of any of the new styles of music. They stay strong what they were raised on which is a rare quality in a band, especially for a band with only one full length under their belt. The 9 track full length from this Georgia based band is worth hearing if you are sick of hearing all the crap that is flooding the music scene, or if you want to hear something astray from the main style of the present.
Emoisdead (http://www.emoisdead.com)
This is fucking awesome shit, dude! Hunter Gatherer play Hot Water Music like hardcore with big emotions great guitars and a cool rhythm section. The band has two singers and while one's singing with a pop-song-voice the other's screaming his ass out of his throat. This cd's running non-stop in my cd-player, so what more can I tell you? Listen to Hunter Gatherer!
UK Base (http://www.ukbase.org.uk)
Hunter Gatherer are from America but the collaberation of Ignition in the UK and Scene Police in Germany tempted them to release over here, that's great but I'm sure that this would have been released over here some how as it's excellent, though I've always hated their name, let's face it does sound like some Grateful Dead or Hawkwind wannabe. Imagine a lighter slightly more emo Hot Water Music...or Fuel if you want to split hairs, mixed up with a slightly indie jazz feel at times. Ok, there is no getting away from the Hot Water Music tag, especially as one of the two main vocalists has remarkably similar vocals to HWM, though the other vocal is much less gravelly and they both complement each other. The songs go from lighter empassioned emo rock to heavy post hardcore. Hunter Gatherer never pick up the pace too fast they would probably be comfortable sticking to the motorway speed limits, so if your a person that would like HWM and their ilk but wishes they would calm down a little and vary their musical styles a little more then this will be your ideal CD, I personaly like both bands. The artwork is great for this CD as well.
Marcia at Hard Boiled (http://www.hardboiled.net)
And again you find me speechles. Low Standards For High Fives is so great! Extreme emotional rocking hardcore-whatever, with two unique voices, one that is all throaty and dirty and one which is more about screaming and singing, both of 'em shouting out the individual lyrics alternately or simultaneously. The guitars have a lot to do and they play everything from slow, picking parts to fast rocking sections and everything inbetween. all of the 10 songs have their own mood, but in the end they fit together perfectly again. To put it into other words, and to make it all less complicated: this reminds me of Small Brown Bike with fewer punk influences, so a lot of people will like this i think. The Artwork is very beautiful to look at. Ignition and Scene Police have released a very good record record. Once again...
