The Hat Party is an indie rock group from the USA. They play an energetic type of rock with elements from punk and wave. It’s a four-piece group, with a basic line-up of guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, with two members sharing the vocals. The pace is pretty high on their debut album; The Hat Party plays 10 tracks in just 35 minutes.

I quite like their sound, with uptempo rhythms, melodic keys and a guitar sound with lots of feedback, somewhere between postpunk and Sonic Youth. The vocals are emo-aggressive in a Fugazi-like manner, but not always completely convincing.

The songs are quite dynamic, with energetic parts and slower breaks. I miss a real stand-out track, my favourite efforts are ‘Charlotte Corday’ and ‘Icicles’. In general an enjoyable album, without being revolutionary.

Author: HD. Published on: Saturday, March 25th, 2006.
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