Who knew that watching a documentary on Enron could fuel the artistic flow for an entire album? Harriet’s lead singer/songwriter Alex Casnoff did. Formed in 2011, this Los Angeles based Alternative Rock band is made up of Casnoff, Drummer Henry Kwapis, Bassist Patrick Kelly, and Guitarist Matt Blitzer. After releasing two EP’s, Tell The Right Story and the self-titled Harriet, as well as several music videos, the band began to gain recognition and fans desperately wanted a full-length album. A member of Harvest Records, they are now set to release their debut full-length album, American Appetite, on January 29th, a record which could lead this band on the path to stardom.
Starting off with the title track, “American Appetite,” one can see how much this simple Enron documentary truly affected Casnoff. In an interview, he even stated how watching the documentary made him see sociopathic tendencies of people who honestly believe the wrong they are doing was justified. Casnoff wanted to convey an album where one cannot necessarily trust the narrator. The slow melody and earnest voice make this song even more powerful when combined with the progression into the much louder chorus. “Ten Steps” reminds one of Two Door Cinema Club with a mix of The 1975. A mix not often tried, or if tried, a huge fail. These guys nailed it with the sampling and distortion of guitar and keyboard, mixed the higher toned vocals, and the unusual lyricism.
“Bring Me When You Go,” “Inheritance,” and “Up Against It,” continue to thicken the plot line of the musical story Harriet is trying to tell. The songs continue with the mix of musical stylings, Casnoff’s vocals, and lyricism. “Irish Margarita” is straight out of the ’80s with its opening of techno beeps and boops. Yes, beeps and boops. It is fun, fast-paced, and a makes one want to go to the dance and ask a crush to borrow her underwear, just for like five minutes (Sixteen Candles reference). “I’m Trying” slows the tempo down with simple strums of the guitar and Casnoff’s slow, reflective tone. The song makes one feel at ease, and then, three minutes in, it starts to transition into something more like the previous fast beats, but only for a short amount of time and proceeds into an outro that helps play into the next song, “Burbank.” “Burbank” is one of those songs that can only be described as a temptress, seductive, alluring, pulling one in, and then spitting them out. The lyrics insinuate said temptress, and the sound of the guitar chords changing, the simple drum beat, and the slow bass add to the lure.
“This Time I Was Right” has the most interesting sound. By that, it has so many different sounds that it is almost a masterpiece of melodies. Queen, Beatles, Muse, and Aerosmith, literally, one could hear all those greats mixed into this singular song. It is simplistic, but in a complicated way. Yes, that makes no sense, but listen to the song and one would agree that although it has a mellow tempo, which sounds simplistic, it is complicated lyrically and musically. “Bent” follows with a slight Country-style feel of the guitar riffs. Most, if not all, of the song is just Casnoff’s vocals, and the strumming of an acoustic guitar.
“Richer” brings back the keyboard, techno beat, which feeds into a faster tempo than previous songs. Casnoff’s lyrics continue the central theme of the album, which is money, power, deceit, falling apart, and inevitable failure. It leads into the last song, “Memento Mori,” the name itself literally means an object serving as a warning of death. In Latin, it is “remember you can die.” The song wraps up the album perfectly, not only with its title, but with its sound. It starts off with this melodramatic and slow pace and then hits this high, where one can just dance around the room until finally the song dies down and the albums completes. The song is like a compilation of everything a listener heard throughout the whole album.
Harriet is going to make a splash, and American Appetite is just the beginning of it all. With the ability of their vocal mixes, tone changes that can shift a listener’s mood in the span of one song, the use of old and new beats, Harriet form an album that anyone can listen to. With that said, American Appetite is an album no one should miss in 2016. CrypticRock gives American Appetite 5 out of 5 stars.
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