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Reviews

Hans Hjelm — Factory Reset
(Bandcamp Kungens Ljud & Bild, 2021, CD / LP / DL)

Automatism — Immersion
(Tonzonen TON088, 2020, CD / LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2021-05-08

Factory Reset Cover artImmersion Cover art

So I start Automatism’s album Immersion and hear a fairly nice mid-tempo groove with a steady beat a little reminiscent of classic Krautrock. After a little while, a tasty dual-guitar melody starts, and I’m thinking it’s a pretty good album. Then there’s a synthesizer solo and some more messing around on guitar, and I start to lose interest — we’re three minutes into an eight-minute track and very little has really happened. By the five-minute mark I’ve checked out. There’s a knack that some bands have to making a repetitive groove work, and these guys don’t have it. Immersion has six tracks, none under seven minutes in length, and on average each one is built on a single idea that goes on and on with little change at a medium tempo. Other listeners’ mileage may vary, of course, but I find it a tedious attempt at jammy space rock on the mellow side — no heavy riffs here.

When a solo album by guitarist Hans Hjelm arrived, I had low expectations due to how little his band impressed me. I’m happy to report that Factory Reset exceeded my expectations, and is quite a bit better than Immersion. Hjelm himself handles all the instruments except drums, which are played by Jesper Skarin of Gösta Berlings Saga. Guitars dominate, but there’s a lot of synthesizer mixed in. The promotional material mentioned Depeche Mode, but that’s way off base. Factory Reset consists of six instrumental tracks in roughly the same style as Automatism, only with more concise arrangements featuring more changes — most tracks actually have a B section which changes chords from the A section, unlike anything on Immersion, and feature many more layers built upon the rhythms. The tracks are also redeemed by brevity, with three coming in under six minutes. Hjelm is not a flashy guitarist, favoring simple echoing parts, arpeggios, and melodies, but he stacks them up and varies them to create interest. I wouldn’t call anything on Factory Reset “exciting,” but it’s a pleasant listen and has some nice touches. My favorite track is “Inter-City Travel,” which is one of the faster tunes and, not coincidentally, the shortest. “Nothing to Fear” features the best synth work on the album, with pulsing sequences backing all the layers of guitars. Factory Reset is a promising debut, and Hans Hjelm has proven himself a guitarist with a fine sense of textures and layering.

Filed under: New releases, 2021 releases, 2020 releases

Related artist(s): Hans Hjelm, Automatism

More info
http://automatismband.bandcamp.com/album/immersion
http://hanshjelm.bandcamp.com/album/factory-reset

 

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