Indiana’s Henry Kohen AKA “Mylets” brings his one man band ‘loop rock’ to the fray with his debut album, Arizona. As per the Mylets band camp page “Mylets is Henry Kohen, Henry Kohen writes the music, Henry Kohen plays the instruments, Henry Kohen writes the words, Henry Kohen sings the words, Henry Kohen plays the songs live”. Henry’s ethos is similar to that of Dave Grohl who recorded the entire Foo Fighters debut alone (before dutifully crediting his fellow band members on the sleeve) and who’s Probot project album was all Dave in instruments with guest vocalists. The feel of Arizona generally, is quite complicated.
It has complex themes, disjointed rhythms and melodies cleverly interwoven, loop upon loop to create a sound quite unlike anything this writer has ever heard before. There are parts that are reminiscent of Trent Reznor’s work (NIN), such as the opening track “Trembling Hands” but really, this is where all comparisons end.
Henry’s screamo style vocals are strong, but often utilised at points that feel out of place, as the music isn’t heavy enough to back their formidable strength. By contrast, his sung vocals are relatively weak and can often be drowned out by their backing. The musical themes vary so much within and in-between tracks that they are not cohesive. Consequently Arizona feels like a collection of songs rather than an album in the traditional sense and it can be a jarring and uncomfortable listen.
Once you delve down past this however, there’s a lot to like about Arizona, not least the title track where you get drawn in by the chanting vocals, plus the aforementioned opener “Trembling Hands” which will no doubt get the crowd going. Every track is cleverly constructed and performed with the assistance of a well mastered cacophony of electronics and synth. Many of the tracks are slow to build, keeping you on the edge of your seat and when they reach their peak they are truly awesome to hear. The best examples being “Seven Seals” , “Ampersand” and the instrumental madness of “Homes”.
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While I don’t believe that this debut will be a huge commercial success, Arizona has a very unique sound and musical ethos from which I fully expect Mylets will attract a devout, cult following in next to no time.
Stand out tracks: Trembling Hands – Ampersand – Homes
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