Last night, I found myself carried away by a fever dream. The sonic stream splashed and crashed around me, rising, receding and rising again, a miniature river of time ferrying me to a Day-Glo world where nothing is real. Fragrant scents of cinnamon and spice swirled through the air. I heard music everywhere, a kaleidoscope of colors. Plush rhythms spurred melodies forward at a brisk pace, while the songs wrapped themselves around the imagination.
That the soundtrack was fueled by Franco-Anglo band Huarinami shouldn’t be much of a surprise. “Girl I Know,” which first punctuated playlists in February, remains an utter delight, the kind of song that reverberates through the mind long after its final note. It and the three other tracks (“Tell the Difference,” “Work It Out,” “Make a Move”) on the Super Soft EP embrace the psychedelic-infused pop of the mid-1960s, when songs floated from the radio for two-and-a-half minutes before dissipating into the ether, while also reminding me of the similar magic found in L.A.’s Paisley Underground.
The four-piece band is led by Pauline Janier (aka Cody Pepper), who handles vocals, flute and guitar, and Kevin Siou, who plays lead guitar. The press release shares their goal of integrating more than music into their art. “Huarinami isn’t just a band,” Janier says. “We see it as a full experience: a sound, a style, a world you can step into. Music is just one piece of the puzzle.” To that end, the prickly “Tell a Difference” rides a staccato riff as if a pulsating light show. “Work It Out,” which was released as a single last month, merges daydreams with reality, its bristly brush strokes funneling into delicate dabs. It’s catchy as all get-out, in other words, a happening set to song, all while Janier’s sumptuous vocals float forth as if from the back of the brain.
The press release calls their sound “lush punk.” That fits.
The EP concludes with the taut “Make a Move,” a brazen come-on to a potential paramour that finds Janier murmuring the lines as if a pouty actress in a French new wave film. In some respects, the result is akin to a cinematic short that ends before its audience can grow bored. The same’s true of the set in full, too, which clocks in at less than 11 minutes. It leaves us wanting more.
The Old Grey Cat 