The members of New Orleans’ haarp came together soon after the devastating Hurricane Katrina, their former bands now defunct, but the desire to aurally punish never leaving their minds. This quartet deal in slow, mesmerising sound structures and throaty, ruined growls of pain that symbolise a passion for their surroundings yet betray a knowledge of the devastation that’s been wreaked upon their home town.
haarp’s sound is thick and meanders down several hypnotic paths. Doomy, trudging riffs wrap around the occasional burst of melody during opener deadman/rabbit and the gruff voice of Shaun Emmons encapsulates a terror of the unknown and a restlessness that can only be associated with a massive shift in outlook.
Husks is as delicate as it is heavy, small moments of calm pushing from the echoing bass tones of final track fox, and the disturbingly obvious pause before the vocal kicks in is enough to make the heart skip a beat. Both monstrous and believable, Husks is a testament to the power of the natural world on the minds of men.
