Hemenway - URAHEME Welcome to the Other Side

Four-piece rock band Hemenway only debuted in 2011 and surely couldn't have asked for a better start to their musical career. Having met at music college in Boston, the four reunited in Japan in 2010 and were picked up by major label Ki/oon shortly after. Their first two singles were used as themes for the popular anime series "Eureka Seven AO" and "Naruto Shippuden" respectively. Their latest release, URAHEME Welcome to the Other Side, came out the 21st of November and is available for download only.

This first album is a 6-track mini one. Their previous single releases have not been included, but instead there are a variety of unheard tracks to show the world what they can do. They couldn't have picked a better opening track than the explosive GET UP—loud, brash and bold with pounding drums and the thrash of lead singer Isaac's guitar from the starting count. It's guitarist Charm's delicious lead guitar riff that takes centre stage in this however. The overdriven guitar teases gently in the beginning but is unleashed eight bars in, never relenting in an ever accelerating frenzy of fingers flying over the fretboard. Any Guitar Hero fan would relish the challenge. Isaac's even, slightly husky rock vocals, perfectly as they're suited to this style of hard rock, have to make way and duet with Charm's instrument.

After such a start, the next couple of tracks don't feel quite up to scratch. Gensou to Dance (with lyrics by Shindo Haruichi from Porno Graffitti) is more a piece of happy pop rock, along the lines of Nico Touches The Walls and those of similar ilk. The English Left Unsaid shuffles even further along the pop spectrum, a cheerful bit of pandering, apologetic love ode intercut with an interesting light jazz section. As Isaac is Korean-American (as is Charm), he switches between English and Japanese effortlessly, with only a tinge of accent noticeable upon singing the latter. Somehow the choice to perform Left Unsaid in English has increased the cheesiness factor a bit too much.

Luckily there's more of the harder rock in the suitably fired up Honoo, featuring some fierce, crisp drumming from Toshi and more of a major role for Ogaching's ferocious bass. Isaac's vocals are especially good in this track and its anthemic chorus. Whilst not being as heavy as Honoo, follow-up Anosa is an enjoyable bit of experimental rock, giving us constant changes of rhythm and flips between funk rock and metal. Toshi is on superb form and Charm goes off-the-wall with his mad free-styling.

Things head to a close with the band's English cover of female pop trio Perfume's dance number Dream Fighter, which appears to be an unexpected choice to say the least. It's pretty different from the original, apart from a few bars at the start where the guys have gone for a (hopefully) tongue-in-cheek homage with the awful ubiquitous autotune effect. Otherwise it's an odd mash up of dark dubstep, rock and Eurodance. Needless to say they've definitely put their own unique stamp on it.

As new as Hemenway is, what graces URAHEME... is so slick and honed that they easily sound as if they've been around for far longer. It's not the perfect album but what is there is a succinct summary of what they're capable of, which in brief is a lot. They could shoot for and comfortably sit across a few genres. It's on the loud, uninhibited music that they should focus their attentions though, as it's here that they truly rock.