Minks - By The Hedge
- Written by Antonio Tzikas
Hailing from the musical mecca that is Brooklyn NYC, Minks produce neat little slices of ramshackle goth-pop that closely resemble those of The Cure during their Seventeen Seconds era. This record, their debut, mixes luscious downbeat jangle with tales of lonely gloom, morbid mopings, and impending winters as well as oozing the Sarah/early Creation sound and production aesthetic. Minks clearly display all the symptoms of the severe Anglophilia present in many US indie bands today, and though evoking spectres of indie past, manage to firmly place their own macabre stamp onto each track.
Minks are headed by frontman and songwriter Sean Kilfoyle, though singer Amelie Bruun takes on lead vocals for a few songs, and backing on others. Having split vocal duties is an interesting touch and gives Minks that little extra to differentiate them from the oceans of other indie revivalists floating aimlessly around the blogosphere at the moment... plus it sounds great when they’re both singing.
Like a lot of albums, on first listen I gave the noted singles a spin, ‘Funeral Song’ and the new-romantic tinted ‘Ophelia’. Then, having thought, “Yep, this is my thing”, I gave the record a once over. This is the point at which, with a boring record, I would just give up and keep listening to the singles...if they were any good. Luckily, By The Hedge has managed to keep my attention to the point where I'll listen through intently and really enjoy it start to finish, something that isn’t easy to do with a new album these days, with the whole internet, i-Tunes, and Spotify at my fingertips.
Perhaps its the well timed release date, which coincides with the gloom and doom of a dank and dreary early January, but there is something about this record that sounds immediately urgent and relevant. As with most debuts, there is a fair amount of poppy single material, such as ‘Cemetary Rain‘, with its sweetly glum boy/girl vocal and ‘Funeral Song’, the debut 7” release and lament to a summer past that first drew the eyes of the music world in Minks’ direction. Of course, as with all good goth pop, there are a selection of more genuinely downbeat dirges if some serious introspective moping is in order; the haunting but melodically inspired ‘Our Ritual’ and the dreamy, wistful, ‘Boys Run Wild’ show another side to Minks, one that might benefit from, and grow as a result of, some proper studio production.
For a debut album, By The Hedge is a strong effort. Although there are a few duff tracks (including the instrumental Indian Ocean) that take away from the impact of the album as a whole, what is presented is a great collection of songs and a band that shows a lot of promise.