Hypochristmutreefuzz - Hypotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia

It seems these guys from Ghent, Belgium are creating quite a buzz with their "fuzz." Actually, it's Hypochristmutreefuzz, their name, and their debut album titled (deep breath) Hypopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, a word that means (seriously) "the fear of long words." You can't make this stuff up. Try retyping their name or the name of the album a few times without making a mistake. Forget about saying it too, no matter how slowly you try to work your way through the process. Alas, at least for now, I'm afraid this is the extent of the fun for me. 

Sorry guys, your credentials are great, but straight off, you’re not there…yet. The name of the band comes courtesy of a tune by a great Dutch avant-garde jazz pianist Misha Mengelberg, and a couple of respected newspapers and magazines mentioned names like Captain Beefheart, The Residents, Pere Ubu, Butthole Surfers, Jesus Lizard when discussing this band. Now, as far as I’m concerned, mentioning of Beefheart (let alone Pere Ubu or Butthole Surfers) would have been enough to compel me to listen. The Residents and Jesus Lizard? Not so much because both have their good and bad moments. When “Finger” opens the album, it is all the latter two, however, and not exactly at their best moments.

“Gums Smile Blood” follows, and turns out to be much more promising; Pere Ubu’s quirky tempos updated for today’s dance floor. “Hypochondria” should be like a Jesus Lizard hip-hop effort, but doesn’t come across well. So, the album goes on, and it is ups and downs all the way. About the aforementioned Captain Beefheart reference? Only if you take into consideration the band’s willingness to experiment and their attempt to take themselves and the listeners into territories not often visited. But then again, The Residents do that too, albeit, sometimes really well and sometimes not so. I’m afraid the not so, crops up on Hypotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia in quite a few numbers (“Chromakalim”, for example.)

It would not be fair to say that Hypochristmutreefuzz lack promise, because they can be quite promising, as in “Gums Smile Blood” and the moody “Music Of Spheres,” both of which demonstrate the potential many see in these guys. Also there is word that the band sounds really smashing live. They need to fully transcribe that vibe to an album, however, (different production needed?). In the end, it’s quite a mixed bag, as there are traces of promise for something exciting, but it is simply not there yet.