Hilo - this is destroyer (Cambodia, 1999)

I rediscovered accidentally Hilo, a band I first listened to around 2001 an which surprised me through their similarities with the Rodan / Sonora Pine / Shipping News / June of 44 family and indirectly with Slint too.


Jonathen Swafford, Brian Ulrich,  Jenifer Bair and Patrick Ginley were releasing their first album "This is the destroyer", from their home base of Akron, Ohio, which since then gave us Trouble Books or 'Talons too.


If you know their references, there is nothing strongly surprising or innovative down here, maybe just a couple of gems, and from this particular dried-up style, you cannot really disregard because only a handful of such nuggets were recorded.

Mostly the two first tracks, "Mouse Gets It's Cheese" and "Road" are utterly precious with their perfect emulation of Rodan and Slint but turned down, moved closer to slowcore. but definitely post-hardcore in the Chicago 90's meaning of the word. Without being unpleasant, the rest of the record mostly apply the rules of the genre. An historical document and 14 minutes worth of keeping in this new century at least.

http://www.thetinydestroyers.com/
http://www.myspace.com/thisisthedestroyer