Review: Hanry ‘Disruption’ EP
As the temperature in the UK comes down with the decorations and gone are the bright lights shining in the darkness, the post-festive season brings a drab gloom to the proceedings despite the beginning of a new year heralding a fresh start, Whether it is the mania of the build-up to Christmas with two young kids, family pressure, work deadlines etc, I always seem to reach the end of December in a state of fatigue where I just want some quiet reflection.
Fortunately, having already thrown my hat into the ring to review the Pelagic Records debut of French instrumental post-rockers Hanry, their new release would provide that thoughtful stillness I was craving.
Having made their debut on the scene with the 2022 EP Panorama, the Rennes-based six-piece collective consisting of Anthony Leliard, Jean-Anaël Aubaux and Hadrien Benazet (guitars), Marc Mifune (keys), Mathilde Lejas (bass), and Clément Champigny (drums) have quickly established themselves as purveyors of lofty, soaring post-rock, fused with a warm and tender acoustic edge that flirts with intimate electronics.
This cinematic and panoramic sound shows a breathtaking ambition that saw them take the stage at the 2023 Trans Musicales festival, which was broadcast worldwide, and a live session for American radio station KEXP, which led to their relationship with the far-reaching Berlin label.
Disruption, the four-track EP, clocks in at a chunky forty-one minutes, making it as long (or longer) as some albums, meaning that all but one track weigh in at the ten-minute mark or more. This languid running time could easily fall into the trap of over-indulgence, but for such a relatively young band, Hanry have fantastic command and vision for the music they produce, which means that these slow-burning, sometimes glacial movements sparkle and glisten like the winter sun reflecting off hanging icicles. Light, delicate touches of electronics appear fleetingly over abrasive guitars and powerfully cavernous drums to sweep you away from the dreariness of the après solstice grind.
Opening track Radiance begins with an urgent pulsing, like a rapid heartbeat, before a solemn, delicate piano and a light humming synth float into view. Over the trippy sigh of the intro, glitches and stutters hint at the changes to come. Through the wistful wash of the dreamy haze, danceable beats break out, the piano stabs grow more insistent, and the layers of the music build with increasing intensity, like some mellow Avicii track, or even the meditative works of Scott Hansen (Tyco). As the track progresses the more abrasive resonance of the harder post-rock, cinematic drives the atmosphere on in dramatic fashion.
glacial movements sparkle and glisten like the winter sun reflecting off hanging icicles…
The follow-up, Ether, is possibly the standout moment, mimicking the same floating expanse that started Disruption but with chattering, skittering beats that lend a more immediate feel to the piece. As woozy bends and sounds collide with the bass and the pondering keys, the mesmerising guitar takes the listener on a blissful and positive journey. When the track moves into high gear, the mood shifts from delicate and introspective to a vast swirling roar and there is a triumphant, celebratory air to the piece.
Zénith (Tape#2), the shortest track on the EP, is a moodier, more deliberately focused number. Built around a plodding cadence, the drums pound with a deliberate, slow pace as the fuzzing, discordant electronics cut through the swell. Still wrapped in an ethereal fog, the off-kilter grind and abrasive edge feels more pronounced despite the gentle lilt of the music.
Final track, the epic-length Intermission, starts with a jangling, bright electronic run before being joined by the piano, which is warm and bright and invokes a feeling of waking up to a fresh spring day (or maybe that’s wishful thinking, stuck inside on a gloomy, rainy Sunday morning). The light motifs soar and glide like being playfully carried by a light breeze. Even the murkier moments of the harder passages serve to build the tension and release it cathartically with the next dizzying flourish as the music spirals off into yet more highs.
Throughout Disruption, there is a laser focus on the construction of the songs and all work to form part of an offering that is very much self-contained. As refrains cycle and return, playing off the moods and poise of each track, there is a unifying synergy to the EP as a whole. This is not a collection of tracks made for the disposable streaming age of shuffle, this is a deliberately constructed journey that informs the listener’s mood along the way; a long, lingering drone shot captures a landscape through the kaleidoscope of night, illuminated by a hazy glow of lights or the gentle, organic warmth of dawn seen from a lofty aerial view, still and at peace.
The instrumental nature of the music leaves interpretation up to the individual, making the music more powerful for that hands-off and lack of guidance approach. Whilst they may have had the aforementioned Panorama to their name, Disruption marks the start of Hanry’s collaboration with Pelagic Records as the band are already hinting at bigger things to come. It will be interesting to see what plans they have for their next step on the journey.
Label: Pelagic Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Mark Hunt-Bryden
