Hilrant – He Followed Me Home Mummy, Can I Keep Him?
“IF you haven’t gotten the chance yet, do yourself a favor and check out the newest release by Paul Tilley, I.E. – “Hilrant” – He Followed Me Home Mummy, Can I Keep Him? You might have heard a few of the songs sprinkled around the internet… But the CD is a little harder to come by. Still, if enough of us badger Paul he might be forced into ripping some more CD’s for us! Tongue & Groove Records WA is a little late to the boat, but as a member of T&G, we feel Hilrant’s album still deserves a feature.
As always when riding through Hilrant’s universe, nothing is taken too seriously – be ready for Paul’s uniquely cynical but forward lyrical style. He Followed Me Home Mummy… is not like any other Hilrant release, though; The guitars spring forward abruptly on the album opener ‘God Is The Devil’ and this time around, we find, we are in for a uniquely loud and punk influenced Hilrant experience.
The cynicism of the second track – “Politics”, fits the year 2016 well, with our worldwide political upheaval. The sound is droney and lo-fi and Paul’s sneering vox come right out of the 80’s hardcore playbook and even though this hardcore/punk vibe appears to be new territory for Paul, he pulls it off with the ease of a natural; Really though, all of Paul’s music, lyrically and musically is informed by 70’s and 80’s punk. “Politics stink, society stinks” – Paul screams! Things don’t slow down with “Selfie”… which is what helps make the album so convincing – it feels like Paul’s been playing hardcore for years.
The album continues with the crawling but catchy “Here In The Silence” and the abruptly funky “Crash and Burn”, which you should know from the first Jared/Hilrant collab album – Though, it does feel a little out of place here, it functions just fine and puts Paul’s ever-present, sneering and highly unique vox on display. “Cambridge Rocks” was co-wrote with Anthony Akhurst and showcases a more contained and 90’s influenced heavy Hilrant rock.
Things get real experimental and funky on the title track (He Followed Me Home Mummy, Can I Keep Him?), an instrumental track, wherein Paul showcases his sharp but lumbering guitar. Paul is particularly inventive on his instrumental tracks and the title track is no exception. By the time we reach the track “I Can’t Give You Anything But…”, it’s hard to really know what’s going on. That is, of course, the power of Hilrant – genre-hopping is like breathing for Paul and though things on the album have generally continued in the heavy Hilrant rock realm, “I Can’t Give You Anything But…” really has to be heard to be believed – The fiery guitars springing from every direction, the plain but overly cocky lyrics and vocals, the funky backbeat. Completely unpredictable. The album closes with the respectable “Valentine’s Monster”, a cheeky and grinding song that would be satisfying on a Halloween night.
Tongue & Groove Records WA is currently looking at the possibility of reissuing some Hilrant Cd’s, of which He Followed Me Home Mummy, Can I Keep Him? would surely be included with it’s solid 80’s hardcore-esque first half, it’s unpredictably weird middle and of course, it’s cute ending.”
View the original on the Tongue & Groove Records WA website HERE
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