- Three years since they emerged out of the Australian alternative EDM scene, the powerful electro/hip-hop trio Haiku Hands have finally released their long-awaited debut studio album. Based across Sydney and Melbourne, the three women have been making waves in Indie club culture since 2017.
The self-titled record begins with their hit single Not About You, the perfect intro to the kind of electrifying dance-pop energy to be expected of the rest of the album. An already well-played track and club favourite, its sound and energy is very reminiscent of M.I.A; a chant of power and confidence like many on the album.
Following are two fresh tunes; Manbitch and Sunride. Manbitch is an incredibly catchy and danceable track featuring familiar, rapid trap high-hat rhythms and a saxophone-like synth, which carries a sexually driven message that flips the usually female-directed insult of ‘bitch’ on its head. Sunride, on the other hand, is a pleasant, easy-listening, positive pop tune that helps to break apart the aggressive hip-hop of most of the album.
Jupiter appears as track four and for Haiku Hands fans it is also already a familiar tune, released as a single in 2018. The power-chord rhythm and the on-the-beat bass/snare exchange remind the listener a little of Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust, while the repeated lyrical count “one-two-three-one-two-three-uh” carries our minds back to Sia’s Chandelier.
The next tune carries an intriguing message. Fashion Model Art ft. Sofi Tukker could be interpreted partly as a critique of modern hipster culture, and the seemingly endless wave of people one can meet that are self-obsessed with whatever ‘creative project’ they are currently working on and how ‘incredible of an artist’ they are. To get all of their complaints tied up in one bundle, Haiku Hands also take shots at roboticism and the meaninglessness of certain exhausting social-norms and expectations when meeting new people.
The repetitive and well-used house structure of track six, Onset, backed by quite uniquely intense laser and marimba-style synths and aggressive rapping, make for a great and energising hype track. While some heavier bass may have gone a long way in the post-drop sections, the satisfying half a bar of isolated high-pitched toms playing the sixteenth/thirty-second note fills at the end of each build-up is enough to please any club enthusiast.
As the title of the next tune, Eat This Bass aludes, this track has the juiciest bass on the whole album. The vocals center around the theme of using the heavy bass as means to express angst, with the explicit lyrics and the repeated taunt demanding the listener “Eat this bass” being rounded out by the more cosy image of eating burgers “At the corner shop.”
Car Crash brings the tone from hype to wholesome. A true highlight of the album, the chill track emerges as a beautiful ode to friendship. Beginning as the observations of a concerned friend, who is questioning the motivations of the men that the recipient has surrounded herself with, it grows into pure loving affirmation, as well as deep understanding of the struggles she is going through and the overall difficulties of life. The uplifting chorus lines of “You’re such a beautiful car crash baby” and “You’re f***ing awesome” etch themselves deep into the listeners soul. They resonate with everyone’s own unique experiences of the pure love and care felt for a friend and the desire to reach out and explain the depth of this love to them when they are going through a rough patch.
Track number nine, Super Villain, while being thinner and more relaxed than Onset, brings the energy of the album right back up. A lot of this is done through the aggressive vocals: the more subtle drops turning the lazy mumbled words into explosive rap. The production is mighty fine, with a nice, spacious blend of house synths and sections of those classic trap high-hat fills that help to lift Haiku Hands into their hip-hop fusion arena.
However, I felt Mechanical Animal and See You Baby to be too similar of a feel to Super Villain to follow up with. Although in a live set they would blend into each-other incredibly well and perhaps this is suitable as Haiku Hands have gained a lot of their reputation for putting on absolutely banging gigs. All three are exceptionally well produced and mixed tracks and very pleasing to the ear, carrying very confident and empowering messages. The panned screaming in See You Baby followed by the soft repetitive chorus line is a nice contrast, and helps to deliver the passive/aggressive tone of the tune as a statement of strength and independence. The comical outro is a nice touch also, questioning our very existence as a conspiracy leading into the spoken line “There’s tracking devices in the bread,” followed by elevator music and ominous laughter, with a very subtle little gasp in the last couple of seconds for the benefit of the headphone user.
As a sweet finish to the album, Morning Becomes is a loving and hopeful track alluding to either a potential romance or rapidly developing friendship with the uplifting line of “I wanna fly with you…”. The droplet-like synth is a pleasing sound starting alongside the vocals, with the djembe roll that introduces the first verse tricking the listener into thinking they are being led into a reggae beat.
Haiku Hands’ first full-length is a home-run. While they've been compared to the likes of Fergie and the Beastie Boys and their success and energy has been said to draw from the Riot Grrl subculture, their dedication to their authentic Aussie accents and their desire to experiment has given them a recognisably unique sound. They will no doubt be causing big waves in the Australian EDM scene for years to come.
- Franz Dowling.