HENNISI - Paranoid & Black CD

The album opens with “Gravity”, as swirling space synths are heard, to which a slowly lurching sea of bass and drums enters and the feel of space-rock is upon us. Then vocalist Don comes striding in with a sneer of a vocal, accompanied and counterpointed by a partner vocal from ex-SAZ vocalist Nicola, and the two of them share a vocal force that's highly reminiscent of bands such as Omnia Opera or Wishart-era Hawkwind. In comes the chorus as the grip tightens, the dual-vocal hook rises up and the track takes off on a rocket fuel ride of guitars and synths above the lurching rhythms. The biting, incisive lyrics are positively spat out as the tracks moves inexorably to this searing heat guitar break from Michael as the rhythm section of Cath and Dave keep the whole thing propelled. The chorus strikes out and the mix of female and male vocal proves positively addictive as the track really takes hold and ends abruptly.
“I Believe” opens with this sizzling guitar riff from Michael which swirls around your head to dramatic effect throughout the track as the synths swoop and another biting vocal from Don is unleashed, whereupon Cath and Dave start the engines running as another slowly mighty rhythm begins to accelerate. The track builds a head of steam to take us to the hook, although the verse is almost a hook in itself. The riff continues as distant synths and assorted chiming guitar overlays add real dept to the trasck while the rhythm section are now pounding away deliberately as Don's vocal flares out with barely contained anger and the whole thing drives ahead. Another red hot, if brief, guitar break, leads the track into a more restrained mid-section, before Don leads the path onwards and upwards as the whole thing lifts off and vanishes into the heavens.
Then comes “The Sound”, a corker of a track with a huge sound, that once again features Don and Nicola on correspondingly biting and contrasting angelic dual vocals, as the band fire up as one and drive headlong through a track that's punchy, solid, deep and a whole new take on indie rock, once again driving towards the super heated guitar break, back into the verse, only then to take off like a rocket onto the tidal wave of a chorus that ends the track with the two vocals raising the adrenaline to amazing degree. “Hall Of The 2 Sisters” starts deceptively quietly before exploding in a hail of guitar riffs and leads, muscular drums and bass, as Don's vocal just cuts right through sounding uncannily like a modern day indie cross between David Byrne and Roger Chapman. The track drives ahead in blistering intensity and band-played density as the track just roars into life. However, towards the middle the pace slows, the sound of the synthesized trumpet that began the track is a siren-call for the red hot guitar to enter and usher in the band as the wordless final chorus adds to the drama and it all flows towards a storm-force ending. “Communication Time” has an even more Chapman-esque vocal on the hook, an impassioned lead vocal on the verses and a wondrous harmony, co-lead and background vocal from Nicola who adds the extra angelic vocal touch to the chorus providing a strong and streaming, anguished lead vocal with depth and purity and the result is one driving, dramatic, magical track wrapped in a band-driven whirlwind of guitars, synths, drums and bass. “End Game” is a short and exquisite ballad with an emotive upfront vocal from Don, initially set against gently chiming guitar and deep bass, added harmonies providing a neat contrast.
“Steal Your Crown” starts with a distant circular guitar riff as Cath's drums just crunch and explode as the track roars into life only for Don's vocal to rise above it all as the instrumental backing drops back a little, only then for the riffing to intensify, the drums drive solidly forward and the bass undercurrent solid and steady, as another heated guitar break is unleashed. From here the track moves almost imperceptibly into this wonderful acoustic mid-section as Cath adds bongos to the drums, the guitar drops down to strummed, there's a swirling almost Keith Tippett like piano and the vocals simply glide through. Then, without warning, the band erupt, Don's vocal erupts even more and the whole song ends with an explosion – it's contemporary indie psychedelia in a whole new form. “Wreck Of The Machine” is absolute class – pure Public Image Limited-meets- vintage Hawkwind-in 2010 stylee - as the track becomes this dramatic mix of colossus and atmospheric, the biting, sneering, anguished, incisive lead vocal provide the taut, eruption of vocal strength, set against a classic space-rock style of harmonies, as the band deliver a mix of searing guitars, synth backdrops, driving drums, sonorous bongos and more deep rivers of bass.
“Q” ends the album proper, starting with swirling synths and guitars, lurching, solid drum work and more deep bass, as Don's wordless vocal intones a call to prayer by flying over the bubbling hot sea of instrumental crashing, crunching and cyclical riffing, all very heady and dramatic. Then the band builds this head of steam as they simply erupt in an explosion of guitars, synths, bass, driving drums and Don's vocals, which fly over the instrumental maelstrom like a constantly diving and soaring bird in flight, the whole thing this huge, towering cauldron of modern-day space-rock magic.
Thus ends an utterly new sound – the sound of Hennsi – one that spans two decades – the present day and the seventies - and manages to miss out completely the three in between. As a bonus, you get two extra tracks – an edited version of “Steal Your Crown” and a longer version of “I Believe” - on what is a truly awesome album.

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