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                               Hibou — Halve (July 26, 2019) Pamela MÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃéndez ÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃÃâ Time (22 Feb 2019)Location: Seattle, Washington
Album release: July 26, 2019
Record Label: Barsuk Records
Duration:     39:58
Tracks:
01. Eve (Intro)   1:29
02. Clarity   4:08
03. Inside Illumination   3:54
04. Your Echo (To Remember)   3:44
05. An Hour Of Vision   3:40
06. Following Divide   4:43
07. Silver   4:08
08. As Always   3:40
09. Pure   4:08
10. Flood   6:24
■    Amidst an atmosphere of melancholia, Peter Michel has thrown himself into a lifetimes worth of writing, recording and touring belied by his young age. At just 17, the Seattle~based musician toured extensively with dream pop outfit Craft Spells, and most recently met critical acclaim with his personal project, Hibou. In Halve’, Hibou’s third full length album, Michel creates a characteristically ethereal record addressing the dichotomies between childhood and adulthood, self and society, authenticity and superficiality. The outcome is a work filled with swooning, hazy reflections on loss, love, nostalgia, and joy from a 10,000 foot view. Michel’s vocals comfortably twist from echoing whispers to punkish accusations; his guitar from dizzying surf hooks to lush 80s~inspired chords. Controland the lack of it reverberates throughout the album, and the consequence is a set of ten deeply vulnerable songs that will find you romanticizing your own childhood, your own teenage years, your own morning. Pressed on pink vinyl.
It pleads for you to stay in the moment while planting the seed that you will likely lose this memory as it slips into a misty wistfulness.
■    The result is not sad — in fact, it’s often light and embracing. Michel’s vocals comfortably twist from echoing whispers to punkish accusations; his guitar from dizzying surf hooks to lush 80s~inspired chords. Control — and the lack of it — reverberates throughout the album, and the ironic consequence is a set of ten deeply vulnerable songs that will find you romanticizing your own childhood, your own teenage years, your own morning. These days, Michel keeps fastidious handwritten journals and hoards VHS tapes from his childhood in order to keep himself grounded – haunting excerpts from these videos bookend the album. “Just be pure, alive, and self assured,” Michel repeats towards the end of the album. It seems as much a request for the world as a reminder to himself: this is within my control. This I can promise. His music is a testament to fixation as a cure for apathy, and the fantasies that emerge from a mind unmoored.
Review. Score: 4.5/5 stars
■    Hibou is from Seattle, Washington and has a has a really great atmospheric and melodic sound. His recent album, “Halve,” came out and from what you’ll read about Hibou, this is his life’s work. This obviously shows as he seems to be making an album that every person with anxiety or depression in the 21st Century can feel. This album is very personal for that reason, for every song seems to have a connection with Hibou’s history of dissociative depersonalization disorder:, which means his mind has a frequent inability to feel connected with his body. This shows with his pop/alternative/electric/new wave sound that we’re all accustomed to, but it’s elevated in such a way, like you turned it up from 6 to 11 real quick. What this creates is a wavy, hazy, hypnotic sound that should keep you relaxed and allows you to take that well needed breath. This album was designed to make you think about what you were and who you are now. When you have albums that create a feeling of connecting with the artists, it more special, and if, “Clarity,” didn’t do it, the songs, “Inside Illumination,” and, “An Hour of Vision,” will hit you instantly. This isn’t just a album that one of your favorite artists wrote, this is a piece of music therapy. A lot of us do go through mental health issues and a lot of us, (Including myself), have used music to help us cope with any life situation and this is no exception. For these reasons, it’s 4.5/5 stars.
■  https://needlescratch.blog/ 
Bandcamp: https://hibouband.bandcamp.com/album/halve 
FB: https://www.facebook.com/hibouband 
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/hibouband 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hibouband 
Label: https://www.barsuk.com/home 
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ALBUM COVERS XI.