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Critic Reviews
100
In an ever-changing landscape for British ‘guitar music’ – hello Shame, farewell Wild Beasts – this is a sound, a set of songs, that deserves to expand the size of Hookworms’ hard-won community. It’s been well earned.
8y
100
Here, the band are more willing than ever to open up their sound, to experiment and, ultimately, to create a record that shines in the face of darkness.
8y
100
On their third album, the Leeds band shed some distortion to reveal powerful vocals and tough pop melodies – without sacrificing any intensity
8y
90
You would have to search far and wide to find a transformation in an already great band that works as well as this.
8y
90
Microshift clearly demonstrates that Hookworms are operating on a new level. The sonic adventure of old persists, but the palette has broadened significantly and is further bolstered by a newfound courage to share experiences, thoughts and feelings. At this point, Hookworms might just be the best British band in the business.
8y
90
Touching on themes of mental health, masculinity, romantic breakups, body image anxiety and, above all, grief, Microshift still manages to be the poppiest and most uplifting album of the band’s career.
8y
90
It's the beginning of 2018 and talk of albums of the year right now is obviously churlish, but on Microshift we're hearing a band hitting their sweet spot with such an effortless swagger that we're sure this is a contender.
8y
85
Over an impossibly difficult three years, the band have learnt to fuse the seismic nature of their sound with an emotional transparency that elevates them as a band hugely.
8y
80
Expanding your sound without losing your edge is a tough trick to pull off, but Hookworms manage it with inner space to spare.
Print Only
5y
80
An album of galvanising dark/light tensions emerges, heralded by the mounting beats and meditations on grief of Negative Space.
5y
80
An unusual yet utterly coherent balance of tenderness and euphoria, vulnerability and invention.
Print Only
5y
80
Reborn through anguish, Hookworms are alive and otherworldly as ever.
8y
80
It’s certainly a departure from ‘Pearl Mystic’ and ‘The Hum’; the extended, krautrock jams are eschewed this time in favour of lighter, bouncier soundscapes that place much more importance than ever before on melody.
8y
80
Microshift utilises the band's propensity for psychedelia and takes it somewhere new: it's the band's most accessible record to date, but the subtle electronic idiosyncrasies keep it interesting.
8y
80
While ‘The Hum’ proved a logical step forward for Hookworms, ‘Microshift’ pays little attention to the script, and is all the more thrilling for it.
8y
80
Their new way of constructing songs and the more open nature of the sound have done nothing to blunt their emotional impact, and Microshift ends up being just as powerful and cathartic as previous works while being richer and more musically satisfying.
8y
80
Microshift finds Hookworms drawing a line under their history and taking their first step on a new adventure. They’ve not put a foot wrong yet.
8y
79
Like the reformed partier who now gets their endorphin rush from morning jogs instead of amphetamines, Hookworms have traded in chaos for clarity. The adherence to krautrockin’ repetition remains, but the proto-punk engine has been replaced by electronic loops and glacial synths. Suddenly, a band that once sounded most at home in strobe-lit basement dives now sounds primed for a late-afternoon slot at your roving summer festival of choice.
8y
75
Overall, Microshift is the sound of a band pulling itself out of the abyss on the back of its most buoyant music yet.
8y
70
Employing electronic keyboards and organs, myriad sound effects, a weighty array of stringed instruments and the immense vocal range of band leader MJ, the group has succeeded in reformulating a supposedly outmoded genre for contemporary listeners.
8y
60
Ultimately, Microshift’s bright sound might leave you pining for shadier textures.
8y
Hookworms' 3rd studio album, Microshift sees their british psychedelic focus music continue on full force and with a strong start the band sees to be going into the right direction making catchy uplifting krautrock inspired Neo-Psychedelia but the album slowly drifts into more safe and less memorable music.
Track Review
Negative Space 8.5/10.
Static Resistance 8/10
Ullswater 7.5/10.
The Soft Season 6.5/10
Opener 7/10
Each Time We Pass 6/10
Boxing Day 5.5/10
Reunion 5/10
Shortcomings ... read more
I honestly did not feel much coming out of this album, but I will say that the experimentation was cool and it certainly wasn't low quality. Maybe I need to just listen to more of the genre.
Franchement très bon album. Les sonorités y sont très originales, avec un mélange bien géré entre une atmosphère rock et une esthétique électro assumée.
Personnellement, n'étant pas particulièrement fan de musique électronique, le premier son de l'album "Negative Space" m'a tout d'abord vraiment repoussé dans les premiers instants. Néanmoins, cette mauvaise ... read more
Hasn't aged as well over the years for me, especially considering how much i loved this thing on release. But it still has some highlights like the opener that work a treat, and the production work is still very impeccable. Just not an album I can envision myself returning to as often as I once did.
Contributions By
patton, thisisabtlgrnd, Valeron21, d_ism, Glitchy, OPENblinds, siberianbreaks, tinymusiccriticBecome a Subscriber
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Track List
| 1 | Negative Space 6:56 | 84 |
| 2 | Static Resistance 3:48 | 81 |
| 3 | Ullswater 7:08 | 78 |
| 4 | The Soft Season 4:00 | 77 |
| 5 | Opener 8:36 | 74 |
| 6 | Each Time We Pass 5:15 | 64 |
| 7 | Boxing Day 2:18 | 64 |
| 8 | Reunion 2:51 | 68 |
| 9 | Shortcomings 5:40 | 77 |
Total Length: 46 minutes
