Hypoluxo are a band from Brooklyn that seamlessly combine elements of indie rock, dream pop and shoegaze. Eric Jaso (bass) and Marco Hector Ocampo (drums) give things direction, while the guitar of Samuel Jacob Cogen and Cameron Riordan spin warm and golden melodies with an air of effortless cool. This is accentuated by Cogen’s vocals, his voice a deep baritone that exudes an aura of nonchalance.
The new Hypoluxo album, Running on a Fence, is their first since their 2016 debut If Language, and presents a band who are continuing to grow and develop. There’s an instant laconic atmosphere on ‘Huckleberry’, the almost surfy guitars supported by skittering percussion and Cogen’s signature vocals. It’s a song about the titular character, who happens to be a four-legged companion, and there’s something canine in the aesthetic, moments of infectious energy interspersing the general vibe of relaxation.
“I know it’s hard to feel insecure,” Cogen repeats on ‘Insecure’, which pairs the general sparkly vibe that Hypoluxo are so adept at producing with something a little more direct in the final third, the horizontally laid-back style distorted by guitar growls and drum slams.
‘Kentucky Smooth’ is wonderfully infectious, a new wave inflected lo-fi pop song that’s at turns sharp and spiky and soft and dreamy. The track is an example of the inexpressible nugget at the heart of the Hypoluxo sound, the interplay between seemingly contrasting forces creating a higher level of immersion. This extends to the vocals too, where Cogen maintains his air of cool, but couples it with an undeniable sincerity as he sings:
“You are my Kentucky smooth
and I would never leave you”
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There’s a composed sense of self-possession on ‘Character Driven’, a song about a run-down apartment. “When I’m at work I still think about my home,” Cogen sings, “where there’s cracks in the floor and the furniture is torn, it’s a place where mice and roaches live in harmony it seems.” But even when detailing these less-than-ideal living conditions, Cogen still sounds unflappable. Musically the song has hints of country, Ian Kelman’s lap steel adding winding emotion to the beleaguered hopefulness of the repeated final lines.
“I see, I see
all the bad things you see
but I see, still see
some character within”
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The coolness turns almost sinister on ‘Jimmy Whispers’, the title figure a “scary face with a nice suit and crooked teeth,” one of those old crocodiles who spreads a sense of mysterious unease at the local bar, while ‘Midnight Snack’ builds from taut and tense beginnings into a swirl of whining guitar and cymbal-heavy percussion. The title track closes in a hurried shuffle, punctured with hushed moments of negative space and an uplifting final chug, crowning what is a distinctive, memorable album—a sound leaning between styles and attitudes to form an intangible middle ground, and one far more interesting to stand upon than any of the traditional alternatives.
Running on a Fence is out now and you can get it from the Hypoluxo Bandcamp page, or on vinyl and cassette from Broken Circles.
