Hootenanny Freaks
Freakshow

Hootenanny Freaks is a band that has been around since 1987 and during that time the Finns hasn’t exactly been releasing albums at an alarming rate – or you could say that it has been alarmingly slow. They did release an anniversary single to celebrate twenty years and before that they have released two EPs, Freakshow is the debut album and I guess you could claim that it has been a long time in the making but that the cover was made in a hurry. So, it hasn’t the most impressive cover, but it has eleven tracks where the ending one is a live track.

Sleaze or classic hard rock, it is quite clear that these guys are inspired by the seventies and eighties styles of these genres, think bands like Mötley Crüe and you have a decent idea of how it can sound. The variation is good within that theme and they also vary the tempo with both faster and slower songs. The production isn’t the most impressive I have ever heard but it works and could be described as fairly average for the genre. But the music is simple and straightforward, pretty catchy and they keep it short and that is always a good thing. And that is especially true when it comes to album with less originality and songs made in a simpler way.

It is an album that can be rather easy to like as it is pretty catchy, simple and straightforward, but that also means that you grow tired of it pretty quickly. An album that you soon give up for something more interesting and more exciting, but if you are a fan of the simpler hard rock and think what was popular in the seventies and eighties it could be that you like it. I wouldn’t say that it is better or worse than most of the stuff in this genre, I would say that there is quite the risk that this is an album you forget pretty quickly. It could be an album that you may think of as a less than worthwhile investment, especially if you aren’t a big fan of the style that they subscribe to.

It would have been great had the album actually been more of a freaky thing, more of a show of freaks than it is. Something like that would have fitted better but if you really like the classic and straightforward hard rock it is a good chance that you will find this album appealing. But there are better choices out there and chances are that you will be underwhelmed.

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