HUNDREDS - VARIATIONS
Oh, these rapid changes. Oh, the quick pace with which an idea, a natural cooperation between two people that have known each other for almost all of their lives, can outgrow itself and set out to conquer the world. As Hundreds, the Milner siblings - careful machinist Philipp and heron princess Eva - set out to create new rooms for themselves. They took the rattling of heating pipes, the muffled bass of couch pillows, the snug comfort of a home. They built wonderful songs and stories and around them, and they took them out on a long journey.
During their travels, their project became a band, an impressive spectacle full of magic, playfulness and delight. "Variations" now marks the end of the first episode. This sophomore long play release is not a new Hundreds album. In fact, until the record's second half, you won't hear Eva's voice at all. Still, "Variations" celebrates the band's becoming, their transition from tiny attic clubs to Europe's big stages, heavy with light and sound, on its own terms. For this, it brings together a large and international circle of friends and companions like Get Well Soon, Rue Royale, Styrofoam or Bodi Bill.
In doing so, "Variations" works in at least four different ways. At first, it is a collection of greeting cards, a gathering of old and newly discovered friends congratulating on the successful conclusion of the first chapter. It is also a gift, as exclusive as it is deserved, from the band to themselves as well to those that have accompanied them on their journey. Then again, it is a test, an audition passed, showing just how impressively well the siblings' songs work - even when stripped of Philipp's masterful piano effects and Eva's melodic breeze, without visuals, without fog and lights.
And finally, almost casually, "Variations" is a beautiful album, gripping in many ways. It's a motto mixtape, spinning its red thread all over the musical spectrum. Folk and indie rock, dance floor fodder and kitchen experiments are perfectly combined, creating almost seamless transitions. All contributors find ways to integrate parts of Hundreds' catalog into their cosmos, and find words for the audacious beauty of these songs, side-stepping all the usual remix and tribute routine.
There are no favorites: The soft wide-screen folk of Small Panthers, the flirtatious cool of Bodi Bill, the forest puppetry of Architecture In Helsinki's side project Sheahan Drive, the heart-cracking beauty of Einar Stray, the coveremix ballett of Get Well Soon - they all take the music, the songs the Milners have lovingly sent into concert halls and living-rooms in the past months, by its hand and take it back to the world's most beautiful place: Home. Here, it can rest , it can renew and rediscover itself, before it sets out anew - rebuilt and breathtakingly beautiful - to conquer more worlds in the months and years to come.
(Info by Sinnbus Records)
Tracklist:
01. I Love My Harbour by Small Panthers
02. Fighter by Rue Royale
03. Song For A Sailor by Monta
04. Machine by Bodi Bill
05. Wait For My Raccoon by Sheahan Drive
06. Happy Virus by Phon.o
07. Grab The Sunset by Styrofoam
08. Little Heart by Einar Stray
09. Let's Write The Streets by Get Well Soon
10. Solace by Touchy Mob
Release: 02.12.2011
I Love My Harbour by Small Panthers
Let’s Write The Streets by Get Well Soon
Let’s Write The Streets by Get Well Soon