Hank turns shoegazers to stargazers with their transcendental debut EP ‘Twist Grip’

Brand new to the scene, this North-East London based band have come in hot and are hopefully here to stay. With just less than 5500 monthly listeners before their EP release, they have gained almost 3000 monthly listeners since their release of Twist Grip on the 12th of September. Alongside their previously released singles Angel Says (released 19th June 2024) and DYLM (released 13th August 2024), we have been blessed with Pull It Off and RanThruBlue. This four-piece EP sends us on a twisted journey through time with its Post-Punk influence and Shoegaze-style atmospherics. As trends are becoming more reminiscent of the late ‘80s to ‘90’s, Hank fit right in. The Shoegaze sub-genre within the Indie/Alternative Rock world has had an intense revival in the last two years. With bands such as My Bloody Valentine being considered the figureheads of the Shoegaze movement, Hank certainly display similarities from an instrumental and compositional standpoint. With dreamy, angelic vocals similar to the likes of Cocteau Twins, Hank have created the perfect mix of harsh, gritty instrumentals and airy vocals that float around each other, creating a cacophony of Post-Punk buzz.

The EP opens with their previously released single Angel Says. A transcendental track formed by a heavy use of layering, distorted guitar and gritty audio effects. The combination of soft vocals and the repeated baritone conversational chorus make for an addictive piece. “Angel says she’s much too tired now” makes for an interesting opening to the EP as the first line. It highlights the head down, eyes up quality of Hank’s music. Aggressively beautiful, purposefully nonchalant. I couldn’t be more in love with the concept and delivery of the repeated line “who shot the movie”. Eyes forced shut, it’s the type of song you focus on.

Following on from Angel Says is Pull It Off. Similar in effect, these two songs work beautifully next to each other. However, with Pull It Off I feel the need to have smudged black eyeliner across my eyelids before closing them and nodding passive-aggressively. The dirty guitar grips a hold of this track guiding us through. The vocals, in form, feel reminiscent of digital soundbites. Like snippets of life formed into memories, dreams, flashbacks. This song feels like a visualisation of tossing and turning in bed, restless; Just to wake up, fully clothed, running through cold, damp streets at dusk. It’s all consuming yet distant, like balancing on the cusp of an audible heaven and hell.

DYLM, an acronym for Do You Love Me, slows down the tempo of the EP and lulls us into a sombre breakup from the past two tracks. Vocal heavy, this track diversifies the EP, showing us a softer side to Hank. The spacey, almost distant vocals float in the foreground of DYLM, with a steady drum beat in the back. Less dynamic than the previous tracks, DYLM is definitely an easier listen with it being quite repetitive.

RanThruBlue closes off the EP with a track that wholly collates the stand-out qualities of the three previous tracks. A steady beat and harmonious vocals at the beginning of the track reflect the alternative heart-break ballad qualities of DYLM, followed by an unsuspecting yet delicious halftime breakdown with heavy instrumentals similar to the gritty interludes in both Angel Says and Pull It Off. The powerful combination of oscillating glide picking and buried drums in the latter section of the song conclude the EP perfectly. Transported into a realm of head-nodding and foot-tapping in a cloud of thick smoke and heavy lighting, Hank are definitely on their way to mastering the Post-Punk aesthetic.

Whilst each track has its own merits, the combination of Angel Says, Pull It Off, DYLM and RanThruBlue creates the perfect EP for this fresh band. Hank’s big, bounding baby-steps into a 30-year-old sub-genre are inspired and have left me wanting more. Could they be the next My Bloody Valentine?