Ex-Hyena are back doing what they made them so special in the first place: creating a unique, minimal style electro that’s both odd and entertaining at the same time. This is in reference for their most recent album “A Kiss of the Mind”, of course.
Let’s start off with a few of my favorites. You ever wonder what it would be like to get abducted by a couple of aliens while they are just jamming on some instruments? That is what the start of ‘Nocturnal Lullaby’ sounds like as a warping synth is paired with raw keys. Before long the minimal synths that Ex-Hyena have become known for start to play out before their odd, hivemind-like dual vocals come up. One always a bit deeper than the other, somewhat sounding like something whispered in your mind. Around the two-and-a-half-minute mark do we finally get a solid electronic beat that bops. Straightforward or bending, this is how you open an album.
‘In Slow Motion’ is another standout on the album and something a bit different than what Ex-Hyena is normally up to. Rather than focusing on soothing minimal beats, they punch a little harder this time with both the synths and the bass. While not exactly a club track by any means necessary, it is a track that should at least get your head bobbing or your feet tapdancing.
‘Reptile’ is another fantastic little number that plays with big, sweeping synths. It’s a blend of cinematic sci-fi flare and dark electro bits, one genre making love to the other. There are even moments for a bit of mystery as provided around the two-minute and twenty-second mark. It serves as a wonderful break in the album before heading back into Ex-Hyena’s signature sound.
In a rare moment I found myself not so fond of a couple songs that Ex-Hyena presented, which I was a little shocked about. The first of which being ‘Shapeshifter’. The vocals just come off too much like a caricature. The very first line ‘Evening Walker’ has one of the men singing way, way too high. It almost sounds like a parody. The space disco beats are still there, though, and I still proclaim that Ex-Hyena wouldn’t be out of place in a dive bar on an intergalactic space station. This is not something I’d come back to.
The only other song I’m not fond of is ‘A Secret to Protect’. This one felt a bit too all over the place, the high-pitched guitar notes being a prime example of sounds randomly input at the wrong moments. The echo placed behind the vocals made the song feel as if it was constantly lagging, and the other electronic samples placed in the track just did not hold any weight. It is a very unsuccessful improv session, or at least it sounds like one.
The rest of the album is pretty good, though. Favorites and least favorites are listed above, but I don’t think this album would be complete without ‘Spiral Down’, ‘Silent Storm’, ‘Afterthoughts’, and ‘Through the Circuits’. I’ve talked about Ex-Hyena in the past, and I’ll continue to do so so long as they keep this up.