Hype!-Hype!

Odličan Hrčak
2013


Every now and then bands will send me promos that, for whatever reason, end up marked as junk. That proves to be a problem only when I get lazy and don't bother to double check said folder. Lucky for me it was one of those days when I decided to actually sort through all the misc. e-mail "junk". I'd have hated to have missed out on this self-tiled debut album from Hype! Especially as this album proved to be such a pleasant surprise all around. How so you may be asking? Well, this band, who call Zrenjanin home (Zrenjanin is located in the eastern part of Vojvodina, Serbia), has one of those "We're another Paramore-influenced rock band" looks about them. That was something I did fear and yeah, that's also something that was totally all on me! I know all too well that you should not judge something by it's outward looks. Still I catch myself playing the game, trying my hand as it were, of judging a band by just their looks. Although it must be stated that Hype! does have good looks on their side. That doesn't hurt their chances any right? And those good looks? Well, that starts with their front-woman Dargana Mijatovic (aka Gaga Lee) who is a former member of the band The Spanks. The only thing is those lovely looks stand in sharp contrast to her take charge, tell it like it is, foul mouth vocal delivery! At first it looks as if I'd label that as a down-side, but really her no B.S. attitude makes this rock band real and honest. Influences come down to Guano Apes, Garbage, Skunk Anansie, Iggy Pop and Pearl Jam (at least as far as the band is concerned), but I'd also toss in the likes of Jane's Addiction, 4-Non Blondes, Veruca Salt, Sonic Youth, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and even Hole to make everything all square and what not. Of course that one choice of theirs (Garbage) would only make sense if Shirley Manson and her band-mates had been influenced first and foremost by Guns N' Roses! Only then could I see it as Hype! has much more venom and fight running through their collective veins then the members of Garbage. That's especially true when you look into the rest of Hype! Plainly speaking the guitars of Hype!, which are handled by Pavle Kirćanski (who also played in the band "Impurita") and Dalibor Kurjak (who played in "Gluve Kucke", "Partibrejkers" and "Dzukele'), are of the ass-kicking, street rock variety and yes, they are quite righteous. Bass duties fall to Milos Kralj ("Memlah") while the drum stool is occupied by Darko Kurjak (also playing with "Partibrejkers", "Memlah" and " The Hurricane Brothers"). Both of these fine individuals help anchor the raw undercurrents that is Hype! and it's "all in or nothing at all" approach to rock and roll. This fine debut-album might not make the members of Hype! superstars overnight or anything like that (especially true given the awful taste in music that much of today's generation seems to have and the nauseating "idols" they choose to worship), but it's pretty much real rock from a real rock band. There's nothing fake or artificial about Hype! as far as I can tell and this album, all ten tracks of it, is what you'd be more likely to experience from a well-loved and long-term local band that keeps on playing just for love of it all. In the end Hype! is worth the hype as this newer rock band is off and running in the right direction! You can find "Hype!" on iTunes.