Review: Hum – Inlet

What’s up everybody! Here is the review:

Hum is a post-hardcore, shoegaze, and drone band that finally released their album after five years since reuniting for tours. The group is led by vocalist Matt Talbott. Inlet is a well-anticipated album as the band has taken many breaks, and this project is their first studio album release in 22 years! Hum’s music revolves around three main elements: endless feedback, a euphoric drone, and an obsession with outer space. Inlet continues to follow implementing these elements, but the lyrics steer a bit more toward love and nature. The songwriting seems less obsessed with the science world, rather it seems obsessed with the spiritual side of nature. Waves begins the LP by plunging the listener straight into a heavenly drone and mess of instruments. The feedback is extremely harsh while the vocals are light, which allows the singing to be heard in an echoey manner. Here is my track-by-track analysis:

- In the Den – This track has a higher-pitched drone that spreads across the whole length of the track. The bass guitar is very active as the main instrumental loop; it is the centerpiece of the shoegaze. Talbott sings about longing for someone he loves and his insecurity about others (not just humans) knowing that he is alone.

- Desert Rambler – A short piece of ambient drone introduces this song with very dark, damp guitar loops. The lyrics reference Talbott’s desire of being an alien and descending onto the surface with his love. The volume of the song dips in the middle as the light singing in the first chorus transitions into ambient and then back to the loud post rock.

- Step into You – The guitar loop feels a bit more conventionally rock, but the feedback from the guitar is still the signature Hum noise. There are some great lines like, “Sheets of wasted promise” and “Chasing thoughts and a dying moon.” Talbott looks back on his great experiences with his significant other with nature.

- The Summoning – The beginning sounds like a slower and harsher version of the first track Waves. The harsh background drone continues until one minute in where the bright guitar complements the drone well. Artistically convoluted lyrics fill this song with uncomfortable lines such as, “A certain purpose fills the lungs,” “A parasite that eats up distance until it disappears,” and “Twisted and gone / Through the ether and on to home / A slip and I'm all / Lit up and falling through / Falling through the atmosphere.”

- Cloud City – There is a light indie rock groove that transitions into a louder, more lo-fi version of that loop on this track. The lyrics are very vague in meaning, but a lot of cult-like imagery appears to be present. I love the stagnated drone that begins at around 3:15 in this song. Cloud City ends with a nice drum feature as the focus of that verse.

- Folding – Very similar drone to the rest of the album is present, but with a slightly different guitar repeat. Two minutes into this song, there is a lovely guitar melody that is great with the lyrics about structures disintegrating and the inquiring of his love. I do not really understand his last few lines. “I could never be two / I have it in for you / I could never be two / And I've got it in for you.” Maybe this is about sacrifice? Also, the song ends phenomenally into another ambient drone with random noises that have a lot of feedback.

- Shapeshifter – This concept track follows a character that shapeshifts into different animals to experience different events, but all coming to an end on a negative occurrence. I love the oscillating loud to quiet guitars in the middle of the song that become some impressive ambient rock, so the focus can shift to the singing. “Suddenly me just here back on the land / Reaching for you and finding your hand.” That is how the album ends.

In short, I think this a solid come-back album for Hum with some decent drone and pleasing shoegaze. The lyrics are sometimes really unclear, but they are interesting, and all the lyrics have a similar somewhat apocalyptic theme. I can also appreciate the songwriting as there is a consistent rhyme in most of the songs. Some of the drones were too similar and felt repetitive, making my head ache a little bit towards the end (maybe shoegaze has that effect anyway). On the other hand, the cuts that do have ambient or softer alternative rock segments are well-incorporated into their respective tracks. There is nothing else I can really say that is definitively bad about this album, but there is not anything spectacular as well. Inlet is just good drone and shoegaze music.

Favorite Tracks: Waves & Shapeshifter

Least Favorites: N/A

Good Album: 7.2