4 out of 5

Label: Expert Work Records

Produced by: Carl Saff (mastered by)

Being billed as “instrumental dance rock” is the kind of tagging to raise my hackles; appearing as a keyboard / drums duo on an otherwise mathrock-geared label – Expert Work Records – does something similar. Said hackles rear up in fear of shticks; in this case, and taking EWR-mainstay Carl Saff as masterer into account, I was wondering if I’d be listening to some kind of Emperor Penguin-sounding band, which is all fine and good, but Haii Usagi members Peter Hansen and Eric Burch don’t have the same kind of Discogsable history as Penguin players Brian Wnukowski or Saff, landing me back into worrying about shtick, furthered by a track name like opener Dance In My Mouth and the funky synth beat that kicks us off.

…But…

But: Haii Usagi prove good on that EP comparison in the sense that they’re fully committed to their sound, moving it outside of the immediate territory of shtick, and once we get to the first breakdown on Dance, we realize it goes beyond even that, with the sound verging into its own unique blend of electronica and punk, centering on the beat – the dancey part – but not sacrificing a lot of nuance in the synth approach, as well as an appreciable mix of emotional tones. The album may ultimately prove to be a one-off – they have one other recording captured on Discogs; a split from 15 years prior – but it doesn’t sound like that; that is, despite (again, like Penguin) having some elements that directly pull from surface level shtick, the material runs quite deeper than that.

I realize “shtick” isn’t a very descriptive term in and of itself, but I suppose I’d define it as any group (or song) that is writing to a single genre or sound, as opposed to writing out of some more subjectively personal type of inspiration. Shtick doesn’t make for bad songs, and has definitely delivered some great ones, but – at least for me – they’re either completely of-the-moment ephemeral, or just becomes a symbol for whichever sound; I’m not connecting with the material beyond that it is “arena rock,” or whatever. “Dance rock” was a big ol’ movement in the mid-00s that thrived on the superficial vibes of the time, hence my hackles. Haii Usagi doesn’t completely avoid shtick, when a couple tracks on the C-side toss some distorted vocals in (which I’m guessing is why one of the hype label reviews namechecks Brainiac, whose influence I’d otherwise consider minimal), and this makes for the set’s softest spot, when danceability is prioritized over more nuance in the music. In a way, it’s good these songs are paired; on the other hand, breaking them up might’ve been a smart sequencing move.

Sticking with the RIYLs, Aphex Twin is close but I’d point to some of RDJ’s funkier Rephlex partners as the base for these tunes, like uZiq, or DMX Krew, and then Chicago Thrill Jockey groove or krautrock is pasted atop – definitely Trans Am, or jumping to the NY scene, Turing Machine. But a top relative is, I think, chiptune, like The Advantage; bands that use presentation to show off the potential emotionality in 8- or 16-bit compositions. Haii is much more post-punk in song structure, but the bop of chiptune – and the often underlying tonal complexity, finding a way to boil a vibe down to minimal notes – is present, then iterated on by two very talented players who know how to show off without necessarily grabbing the spotlight.

It’s super fun stuff, but – to my great surprise and definite appreciation – pretty affecting as well, jumping across funk and ambient and punk and, yes, dance with equal aplomb.