Hyper Tensions

Reviews

Hyper Tensions Sick Soother LP

HYPER TENSIONS have some of the rougher, ominous qualities of contemporary garage. This gives them a slightly darker sound than simple ’60s revivalists. Still, this record sounds like it was made to dance to. The beats have just a little lift and space between them, which probably make live shows very fun. The guitars frequently have a primary melody with a secondary one laid on top. The band manages this arrangement well. I never felt like the music was needlessly complex or overdone. They describe themselves as psychedelic, but aside from meeting their reverb quotas, HYPER TENSIONS leave out most of the instrumentalism and indulgence of that genre. I think that choice left them with a shorter and sharper record.

Hyper Tensions Evil Seeds LP

Mid-tempo psych-rock from Indianapolis that comes across as a little restrained and melodic for my tastes. I dig how the vocals are drenched in choppy tremolo and delay and how at certain points we get a delightful appearance of what sounds like the electric jug from 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS, but, ultimately, the tunes are held back by conventional blues structures and rather predictable solos. There is potential here, but their overall bar band feel dominates when things need to get weirder and more out of control.