Hamasaari – Pictures
Hamasaari – Pictures
Klonosphere Records
Release Date: 23/01/26
Review by Beth Morait
10/10
When life gives you lemons, music is, for me, always the answer. It has a great power to calm and heal the soul. Especially when that music is beautiful. And that’s what the sophomore album from French Progressive Rockers HamaSaari is. Their press release says they are “Artisans of a massive and delicate sound,” and that single, simple sentence sums it up perfectly.
From the first bar, this album is a thing of beauty, created and performed by musicians of great skill and a deep understanding of how to use sound to stimulate emotion. The best way of describing Hamasaari’s sound is it feels like floating weightless above the clouds, with the entirety of the sky above you as a cinema screen playing an emotional film with a hella groovy soundtrack – listen to ‘The Wild Ones’ and you’ll understand what I mean.
Now, you probably know by now that I’m a vocals gal. So, I was never not going to mention Jordan Jupin’s astounding vocals here! His range is superb, and his delicateness, especially in the higher register, is sublime. And he is always backed up by instrumental and percussive lines that are delivered by players who totally understood the brief. Every single dynamic is perfect. Every single note has a place and a purpose. Nothing is over- or under-egged. Things grow and swell at the right point, climax brilliantly, and fall back to pianissimo without missing a beat. It’s pinpoint precise, yet effortless.
Another really pleasing thing is that the band haven’t gone too insane with time signatures, which lets you just listen, and not have to think too hard. It allows the music to consume you, bypassing conscious thought, and connecting straight to your soul.
The band’s inspirations are noted as Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, and Karnivool. I played a bit of the album to my husband last night, not telling him anything about the band, and his first words were ‘They remind me of Porcupine Tree’, and I completely agree, this is the strongest influence here. But HamaSaari make the sound their own superbly.
I actually can’t pick a favourite track here either. They’re all genuinely superb. It’s about 38 minutes’ worth of just beautiful perfection. This is going to be an album I play again and again, and if it doesn’t feature somewhere on my Album Of The Year list when we get to the business end of this year, I’ll eat my hat.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Below the Lightings
02. The Wild Ones
03. Our Head Spinning
04. Lost in Nights
05. Frames
06. Under The Trees
07. Home
LINKS:
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