Higamos Hogamos - 'Higamos Hogamos' (DC Recordings) Released 23/03/09

The bizarrely named London outfit Higamos Hogamos open their self-titled debut album with ‘Infinity Plus One’,  a track which instantly draws parallels to the deep, descriptive vocals of The Rakes’ Alan Donohoe as the lyrics provide a narrative-like monologue over the distant delay of electric guitar. Yet the opening tune doesn’t really prepare you for what's yet to come, and maybe that’s an edge the band have; sheer diversity. The crunchy, delayed guitars are a dominant presence throughout the album, and the organ featured in ‘Infinity Plus One’ shows it’s cheeky face now and again. But each track is impossible to label with a particular genre.

The intro to ‘Black Forest Gateaux’ offers mixed samples and beats which resemble an almost modern, retro Tubular Bells, if you will. How can you not want to see where that’s going to progress to?! Certainly not glockenspiels! In fact, they bring in the Super Nintendo samples in the catchiest break down of the album. It’s only track two and I’m already trying to save the Princess.

That song fades out nicely with panoramic ‘ahhs’ gliding from ear to ear in a tidy little climax – which didn’t really prepare me for track three, ‘The Future Hides its Face’ or indeed the rest of the record. There’s defiantly a sense of, “if Hot Chip weren’t discovered first, we’d be in their place” in this song. The Hot Chip likening can also apply to ‘B’aby’, which anticipates just how unusual their live set up is. Higamos Hogamos’ live shows are definitely going to be worth a look in.

The album, as I have said, contains a huge vary of sounds, instruments, influence and associations. The games console buzz continues to creep in, especially in the appropriately named ‘The Creeper’ – which again just creates another nostalgic computer game moment of defeating a baddie. Forgive the adjective cop-out, but… it’s cool.

Because the style changes so rapidly from track to track, it’s difficult to get your head around the album, even after repeated listens. For me, it would sit well amongst a road-trip pile of CD’s or a getting ready to go out soundtrack; conversation is easily had over the top, but it’s decent enough to stop and appreciate. However, it would also blend damn well with an old school session of Super Mario Brothers.