This release actually came out a few months ago, but if you haven’t heard it before, than it’s new to you. Your finicky ears deserve to hear this Denver band made up of colorful songwriters and an unique art rock style that’s not commonly found on the stages of our local venues. TransHypnotic takes us to another world through their imaginative and fantasy filled lyrical journeys, as with the first track Fairy-Tale Girl, accompanied by a vocal style that’s both a nasally twang and a gravely serenade.
Their one of a kind formula for song creation lies in the guitar harmonies and layered riffs, that range from pop and gritty rock to the rollin’ down the road strums of Fragments (where poetry is written and read by Sean Beaverson). “Vibrant Violet Velveteen” jangles the bass and drumbeat in an atmospheric circle swirl, backed by vocals in a siren state as they scream the song’s title. If I’m not mistaken, track 7 is a live version of Menagerie, where the lyrics spin on high and the guitars ride a huge wave of flaming rocket fuel.
Break out the lighters and let’s all hold hands to Alarm as the rhythms glide softly over subdued riffs, then rise swiftly as deep bass lines and vocals flow “and carry me up to heaven”, and the twinkling sounds that play lead on Athena’s Heroine.
Don’t worry, there’s no soft rock here. There is a glimmer of retro punk fashion wrapped around Social Medicine, as steel tight guitars clash with heartbeat drums palpating on Red Bull, then the speakers thrash on Oh No! with a adrenaline rush of head banging guitar jams. And right in the middle is Twenty-Five Angles, rich in harmonies and strumming guitar rhythms that echo in your head long after the CD ends.
TransHypnotic is a breath a fresh air, from their sarcastic sense of humor portrayed on their web site to a portion of the lyric sheet that requires you to hold it to the mirror to read it, from their penchant for child like imagination to their their creativity that takes us to place they we didn’t know existed.
The guys have three shows coming up in the next few months, so go support these harlequin music maniacs if you know what’s good for your musical soul.
Friday, September 13 – Crowbar (Denver) with Rubber Planet, My Sick Friends, Nixon Grin
Saturday, September 21 – Lions Lair (Denver) with The Barrys & Bobby Collins Death Armada, Schwa
Sunday, October 6 – Paramount Theater
