Vocally, Hap
takes on the sound of Mark (Hunters
& Collectors) Seymour and Pete
(The
Who) Townshend,
to put my finger on two of the sounds I could identify. Musically, the
influences vary from David
Bowie’s "Alladin Sane" period and The
Who (especially the exchanges between Ryda
and Len during the second verse of Lonely - this takes on
a lot of the Townshend
vs Moon
angst from Miles and Miles, for example) and some late-60s blues-impro leanings; not to mention the great 11/8 timing in Unscathed
and the 3/4-4/4 skips in Knot. And lyrically, Hap has a
way of putting it all out on the table about his life, his loves and losses,
his political stances and even what he thinks of certain TV presenters!
What started out as an
unremarkable album, and finished pretty much the same, moved through some very
remarkable ground! Standout tracks include