The Hidden – The Hymnal EP – Review

The Hidden

The Hymnal EP (Traktor7)
by Brian Varney

Sheathed in the usual beautiful packaging for which Traktor7 is becoming well-known (in my house, anyway), The Hymnal EP is seven edgy but catchy little numbers performed with a unique and almost curious passion, the frenzied but slightly off-center energy of the band’s attack bringing to mind both Fugazi and Di’Anno-era Iron Maiden. The true focal point is the impassioned, dramatic vocals that make me think of Glenn Danzig, even though lead singer Kevin Grant doesn’t especially sound like him. In other words, it’s kinda punky, but its concerns and the way it expresses them are pretty grown-up and almost – there’s no other word for it – sophisticated. So maybe it’s punk for aesthetes, or maybe something else I’m too stupid to pin down, but I predict it’ll appeal to both theater geeks and rock hooligans, a boast-worthy achievement if ever there was one. Worth 21 minutes of your life, several times over.
(www.traktor7.com)