EP Review: Hooked Like Helen - 'Get Well'.

I don't know anything about Ohio. Except that it sounds like “Oh, hi yo”. Which is what I say when I'm being extra cool. I've learnt that in the north of Ohio there is a tiny village called Milan which is home to Hooked Like Helen. Released last November, HLH's 'Get Well' EP comprises of four songs and two remixes.

The opening and titular track opens with a guitar plinking away. Layers of piano, clever-yet-simple vocals and synths create a nice ambient song. The root of HLH is evidently of a Pop persuasion, but provoking lyrics and the casserole of other musical styles that furnish their sound create something darker and more interesting. Continuing into 'Concrete Tub' squealing Hammond-organ-like arpeggios dance and weave throughout the track from start to finish; subtle, and yet somehow elevating the whole track to a delightful high, you have to admire the production choices made at HLH HQ. Also worth noting is the brilliant bass line that underpins the song.

'Liar' is a surprisingly dark ballad, featuring a combination of piano and vocal for the most part. The fourth song on the EP is 'Something Plain', a track that is anything but. The track grooves along with it's various keyboard and slide-guitar licks, again highlighting the level of musical execution and the great decisions made in regard to the production of this EP.

The EP is wrapped up with remixes of 'Get Well' and 'Something Plain'. Shadowfolk imagine the former in an electropop effort riddled with crunchy bass synths and reworking of the great vocal layers its original incarnation has. 'Something Plain' is transformed into a filthy beast of a groove, expanding on the licks and riffs HLH provide through a series of electronic layers.

I instantly fell in love with Hooked Like Helen for the chord they strike on an emotional level and was drawn deeper by the delivery of the musical skill they possess.

Sorry this review took so long, Nikki.

Words of Samuel Hylands

.   ~