psytones Posted December 26, 2010 Share Posted December 26, 2010 Hoodwink – Sound Mirrors (Wild Things Records) 2010 (WILDCD012) Wild Things Records is a label known for their ability to release, well, wild things, wild sounds in a crisp and clean psychedelic vibe with loads of fun, seriousness and acid like ventures of that UK full-on sound. When I received this album I was unfamiliar with the earlier work of Hoodwink and didn’t quit know what to expect, except that it was a release on Wild Things Records which I knew had a past of releasing tight psychedelic full-on releases for the acid frantic ones. His debut album ‘Audio Illusion’ released in 2008 got a lot of cheers for its staggering psytropical content. This is his second album, and for a person like me who has never heard his debut, I am buckling up to experience the Hoodwink journey! 1 To See The Light (Intro) 1:20 2 Acoustic Anomaly 7:18 3 New Ways 2 B Evil 7:48 4 Blah Blah Blah 6:36 5 Shimmer 7:02 6 Aura 6:41 7 Cypher 6:38 8 Syncopath 7:22 9 Arythmia 7:12 10 Chemical Emotions 6:42 The intro track starts chilled like water based life forms morphing into a puddle of life and expectations. The hushed wind and gliding fluids come together to form the beat that drives the power of ‘Acoustic Anomaly’ which is the second track. From the sun one can gaze the lust and power of staggering beats, echoing effects roaming in deep space and squirting interstellar bubbles waiting to implode inside ones brain. It’s a nice and firm track leaving you inside ambient atmospheres with enough grooves to make your toes and head bounce in delight. As the third track rolls in with space like sound effects and rolling pads, you fast realize that the bass line from the previous track has had little to no changes. The tempo continues, the crisp and pleasant effects keep on pumping out and in of the speakers. Music like this deserves massive sound system to truly grasp the minor variation devoted inside all sounds, bass and moves. As the third track enters with its massive sound effects, bubbling sounds and space traveling gimmicks, I am only faced with the fact that all the bass lines seem to be identical. Granted I haven’t managed to listen to this album on a huge mottafokka stereo system yet, but from where I’m sitting and listening now it seems as if the roll of bass and kick is 98% identical on all tracks, at least so far. Ok, so in the sweet end of psychedelic trance music it isn’t really that important how the bass and kick goes because usually and always it’s about all else which is being told and projected in a track that actually matters. It’s the sounds behind the roll, the maneuver of that one bleep that makes a journey created fantastic, or shitastic. ( .. ) Sitting here, listening to this album on a mediocre sound system I can’t help to think if this music, if these sounds which has been so tightly produced by mister Hoodwink would make so much more sense and awe if I where tripping on some crystals - Because right now I’m almost feeling bored, but only almost because these sounds does have some alluring effects. Blah blah blah – I will repeat all that has been written above. I’m sorry but I know it’s nice to have an album which follows a path that has a theme a sound a recognizable pattern, but this is a tad too similar for me. I Love with a capital L the production, the effects and the knobbing skills. They sound delicious and firm. But man, the tracks are boarding very close to the edge of boredom. So far except for the intro track which is beat-less, all tracks have sounded like one long track. I know (Correction; I hope) I’m missing something very important here presented by the Hoodwinked. There’s got to be more to these tracks then what I am able to perceive at this moment. Shimmer me this, shimmer me that, who is the shimmering beat of them all? Ah, I can see it, the dude giving a friendly and sinister wink from inside the comfort of his hood. ‘Yo man, watt opp in Da hood - the fabric of life? *grind* Finally at the sixth track we seem to have a change in both content and kick/bass. This track seems heavier than the previous ones though it follows in the same venue it seems like it has gained a few pounds which makes it much more interesting (incredible what a slight change can do ..) Aura seems to be more focused on the mystique of mirror travel; the secret is to understand time. Travelling onwards we encounter the seventh track where one can dive inside and decipher the Hoodwink codes. It starts strong with some hefty water waves rushing inside your brain only to be followed by a bass line which runs faster, plays cooler and rumbles deeper then its predecessors. The metallic bending is a classic and the groove is well familiar if you’re into full-on acid chasers. Nice flow and comfortable run. As always, Hoodwinks production is near flawless, only thing missing is some deeper imagination and maybe a couple of clever melodies would be awesome. Other than that, this shit is stainless like aluminum on glorified glass walls. The number eight track tries to synchronize the path of where Sound Mirrors are leading us, the listener. The bass line has a slight faster run, the effects seems to be more hyperactive in its venture to create strange, smiling and cool vibes. Nice effort. And dude, those production skills are immense. Really fat stuff presented here, too bad it sort of gets boring unless you’re diving inside a bucket of lucid skies. After a bunch of too similar tracks with amazing production, fun filled effects and atmospheric ambience, its time (I hope) for any abnormality in the rhythm of the ‘Sound Mirrors’ heartbeat. The beat does seem to have gained a certain punch and drive to it, and the haunting vibes with metallic shimmering reflections is stronger than before. Another great track as all of the tracks are great, too bad none of them seems to be amazing, though I got to admit that the groove and flow of these ‘Sound Mirrors’ tracks are all fantastic and admirable. Finally we have reached the last track on this very much generic and standardized psychedelic full-on album by Hoodwink. I mean, no matter how cool and crisp all of these tracks has been and felt, I can’t but help to sit with a feeling of disappointment. Where’s the smart melodies at, am I so deaf here I’m sitting that I can’t catch them, because I know they are in there somewhere between bass lines and effects.. Why has the producer made 9 tracks with identical bass lines, is it so that it will be easier to make a MegaMix where one can jump from one track to another without anyone noticing? Because from my point of listening right now, I think all of these tracks sound like one gigantic track. Ok so maybe a couple of them got something extra to offer, be it some extra pressure on the bass line (like this final track) or some effects that sounds extra nifty and cool. Because granted a million times, this producer got skills and these sounds are most definitely suited best on a huge stereo system with acid frantic people dancing their naked feet off on dusty plains with patches of grass. Recommendation: Make no mistake, this is a very nice album even though it all sounds like one loooong track with different traveling aspects in effects and echo. For me the reason to come back to this album is the heaps of effects that are put into each track. It’s the realms of effects which makes this album great and eventually, interesting! - Also worth the mentioning is the album art. As all art from the Wild Things Records, there is something uber cool about them., Great art, always! I guess my last words to this release would be that it’s all done with a great execution on the effects and it’s a pleasure to be swaying inside the sounds of Hoodwink and his Sound Mirrors. I know I must be missing something here, I just don’t know what yet. Well as many great albums go, they tend to show their hidden magic after a while or after a special experience. I hope this is the case with Hoodwinks second release, Sound Mirrors. Where to buy and other links: DiscoWink: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Hoodwink+(2) WildDisco: http://www.discogs.com/label/Wild+Things+Records WildThings: http://www.wildthingsrecords.co.uk Psyshop: http://www.psyshop.com/shop/CDs/wil/wil1cd012.html Saikosounds: http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display_release.asp?id=8531 Wirikuta: http://www.wirikuta.at/web66/product_detail.jsp;jsessionid=JDGHNKLEFJDD?showDetail=241681 Beatport: https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html/content/home/detail/1/beatport#app=ab19&a486-index=3 Play: http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/15611463/Sound-Mirrors/Product.html?searchstring=hoodwink&searchtype=allproducts&searchsource=0&urlrefer=search Juno: http://www.juno.co.uk/search/?quick_search_records=m_physical&q=hoodwink&x=0&y=0&qs=1&s_search_precision=any&s_search_type=all&s_genre_id=0000 More Yo reviews: http://www.myspace.com/psytonesmusic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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