Graceful Degradation

You might have noticed I have a bit of a thing for the Scandinavian music scene. So when I received an email from a young band from Norway called Hussto asking if I would be interested in reviewing their EP I naturally said yes.

Hussto is probably not a name you will have come across. They formed in 2006 and their first, self-titled EP was released in 2007 - four tracks, only 200 copies were made and they all sold.

Fire Your Bullets is their second recording and features five tracks, of which the title track and opener is the strongest. It has an instantly appealing sleazy feel, some pretty catchy hooks, solid guitars and a great bass line. Sting Of The Scorpion runs it a close second though, with the added advantage of being quite the surprise. It is a slow-paced ballad, lyrically wistful and with a maturity about it that I was not expecting. Wonderfully understated, even in the guitar solo, there's no hint of melodramatic emotion in the vocals, no crashing drums to take the edge off. It's a really good effort.

The remaining three tracks - EY OH, Rotten Roses and Heaven & Hell - all have their high points too, although I think the balance on Rotten Roses is slightly out with the drums being that little bit too overpowering in parts. On the other hand, there's some fine guitars and the bass line is again really strong. Heaven & Hell has some interesting pace changes and possibly the best showing of the guitars of the five.

Production is fairly raw - a bit of a polish might have helped but not enough to take the edge off. Fine line to tread, I know. Still, I'm liking what I'm hearing - if you want to have a listen go to www.myspace.com/Hussto and check them out.