The neologistic amalgamative title of ‘Imaginature’ encapsulates precisely what the fourth album by HK119 is all about. Inspired by nature and interpreted by an imaginative flight of fancy, it’s
Brooding piano-led electro-prog with haunting, almost operatic vocals build dramatic tension on opener ‘White Owl’. ‘Wild Grass’ sits somewhere between NIN, Bowie’s ‘Outside’ and Vangelis. Kate Bush’s influence looms large over much of the album, although that’s as much about the vocals as the compositions or instrumentation. There’s an underlying minimalism to the compositions and the structures are in themselves sparse, but the sounds and production are suitably dense and rich. There’s a sultry atmosphere to ‘Hide’, which concludes with a smooth sax break.
‘Milky way’ is a definite standout, an offbeat slice of dark pop with a groove-laden strolling bassline and cooky, hooky chorus. ‘Whale’ comes on a bit like an EBM Florence and the Machine, but works better in reality thank on paper, thankfully. ‘Iceberg’ is a slab of 80s style electropop, and is actually sung from the iceberg’s point of view. ‘I fall in cold places / and lie on thr ground / Please Don’t stereotype me / coz we’re never the same’ she sings, adopting the perspective of a snowflake.
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The superabundant natural themes (reflected in the song titles) conflict with the man-made synths that forge the peculiar world of ‘Imaginature’. Screaming owls that transmogrify into other horrorshow scenes are only part of the nightmarish dreamscape of the psychotic ‘Moss’, which culminates with the narrator crumbling into the ground and becoming consumed by worms and becoming moss. ‘Spring’ could be a trip-hop remix of a Shirley Bassey Bond theme, while the closer, rain, sounds like… well, quirky would be one way of putting it. Cool enough, but utterly crackers.
HK119 Online
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