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It's insane to think that it was only last year that Eora/Sydney-based alt rocking machines RedHook gifted the world with their debut album, Postcard From a Living Hell. At the time of their first ever full-length, the band had already toured overseas, ticked off multiple high-profile supports, wowed Aussie crowds at festivals and headlined their own barn-burners, and exploded across airwaves with their kaleidoscopic take on the heavy realms.
What's even more insane is what RedHook have achieved in the short window between their long-awaited debut full-length and their sweltering follow up, with their second full-length record Mutation set for release tomorrow (Friday 22 November). Last year, Postcard From a Living Hell took out the #10 spot on the ARIA Album Charts and nabbed triple j's Feature Album of the Week, the group busted out a killer debut on triple j's Like A Version, they've toured in the UK and Europe, performed their biggest Australian headline show to date and continued to dish up banger after banger in the lead up to the hotly anticipated unveiling of Mutation this week. And honestly, all of that is barely scratching the surface of RedHook's busy creative schedule in the past year alone.
The hype has well and truly been surrounding every move that RedHook have made of late, and with the unflinching innovation and colourful yet cohesive pastiche that threads throughout Mutation, the hype is not only deserved; it's exceeded with a harlequin-hued sonic fist.
Opening with coquettish-meets-fangs execution, Mutation invites you in with Pyromaniac, before sliding into some sultry, sax-heavy pop rock waters courtesy of Breaking Up With. Next up, HEXXX levels up the swagger and sharpens its claws with the salient addition of Kiwi artist Vana along with some alt pop magic. And continuing with another perfect team up, Dr. Frankenstein arrives with driving melodic buoyancy and a show-stopping outing both from RedHook vocalist Emmy Mack and Holding Absence's Lucas Woodland, with both singers delivering pure dynamic bliss, while also squarely delivering an open-vein narrative about what Mack described in the single's press material as "owning my shit and taking accountability for my role in a past relationship that became toxic as all hell."
From the moment Bomb.com kicks off, it's clear that this reviewer's personal tastes are 100% catered for with this explosive little number; industrial grit, pop hooks, synths and sprawling riffs set against Mack's rapid-fire delivery, while also lyrically taking aim at toxic behaviour from a certain individual in the music industry. From here, RedHook tear down broad taboos and get, for lack of a better word: sexy. Teaming up the innuendo-laden firecracker Hot Tub and the steamy industrial rager Cannibal, with the latter featuring a perfect addition from Alpha Wolf, these back-to-back tracks are not only a sublime juxtaposition of styles; both also powerfully fly the flag for femme sexual empowerment, with Mack spearheading messages of reclamation and potent authenticity surrounding sex, shame and extremely resonant vulnerability.
Stomping on with some alt-metal via Hurt Like Hell, RedHook showcase their ability to strip back to basics as much as they can fuse like nobody's business, while Party Zombie emerges with a softer side set against cascading drumwork and a euphoric chorus. But the rollicking fun ain't over yet, with Mutation's penultimate track Scream 2 churning up a futuristic punk party-starter, complete with a No Doubt-era Gwen Stefani chorus display from Mack and plenty of palpitating surrounds to melt some faces in the process. And last but certainly not least for Mutation, we close out with Tourist; an alt-rock singalong waiting to tug at your soul and hold you in heartache, balancing ambience with much rockier fare.
Unsurprisingly with a title like Mutation, RedHook cleave an array of subgenres into their alt-rock wonderland, with surprises and shifts lurking across the 11 tracks. But for all of its genre-bending and bold creative direction, not once does a decision feel out of place; somehow, a saxophone solo on a heavy album feels entirely at home as a seething breakdown and/or razor-sharp guitars. And the reason? RedHook know exactly who they are as a band, but they also know how to balance their strengths without leaning into merely being a novelty or an imitation.
Mutation is a triumph as much as it is a refreshing reminder that heavy music doesn't have to adhere to any cookie-cutter assumptions or expectations. Metal can balance sensuality, pop can permeate hardcore, and rock can be boisterous and beautiful; and RedHook are undeniably and unwaveringly leading the charge of a scintillating new era of heavy music.
RedHook's new album Mutation is out tomorrow, November 22.
Pre-orders are available here.
And if you're in Brisbane and Sydney, catch the band's special album launch party tonight and tomorrow! More info here.
BY TIANA SPETER