Hike The Peak – Sheffield, England, United Kingdom
So, it is now. The EP premiere of Hike The Peak and Three. Collaboration is Punk and I will not accept any rhetoric pertaining to the contrary. Cross-border, cross-country collaboration and projects are nothing new but amidst this COVID-age, where burning creativity is confined, it has for some been the only way. This is where Hike The Peak enter the Punk-a-verse. But fast. For an introduction and subsequent review of One, mosey on over at high velocity to – Here. Once you have finished, I then implore you to indulge in Hike The Peak’s TWO but as I am not your boss and Punk has a propensity to compromise a few structures, do so at whatever rate you wish, as we are really here for the EP premiere of Hike The Peak and Three.
With One and Two seeing No Contest guitarist and Hike The Peak founder Lee Byatt joined by Sean Arnold of Goodbye Blue Monday and The Affect Heuristic, Jo Bouwmeester of Coral Springs as well as Petter Mossberg of Rebuke and Robert Lee from No Contest respectively, release three of five has quite an ancestry. So, this time around, Hike The Peak is supplemented again by a second appearance from the soulful, soaring tones of Jo Bouwmeester.
‘Hoping for Good News’ takes a newer line stylistically. Hike The Peak’s instrumentation embodies a jagged Easyore-esque Pop-Punk overlay onto a fast, tightly knit Pop-Skate Punk, permeated with aerated guitar lines and stark tempo changes. Despite this deviation, the underpinning, precision targetted bite now so crucial to this project is maintained. ‘Hope For Good News’ is earnest, poignant and heartfelt as it navigates helping someone whose brain is laden with dark thoughts.
Track two of Three boasts a newcomer. Steve Lowry of Birmingham complexity defying Laughing In The Face Of takes a turn at putting words to the amorphous melodic Punk of Hike The Peak. ‘Put Down Your Host’ is another gazing contemplatively through the window of the bare-all poignancy train. Track two discusses personal loss whilst also loosely touching upon existential outlooks on life. This deeply personal reflection is soundtracked by a constant and intense tempo juxtaposition between a mid-paced melodic Punk, itself awash with layered, anthemic harmony and the intrinsic fast to serrated tendencies of Melodic Hardcore.
But, enough from me, shall we?
Jo Bouwmeester – ‘(‘Hoping For Good News’) is about a friend who suffers from suicidal thoughts again and again and who I never seem to help, no matter what I do. I let go of the illusion that I can help, but I struggle with witnessing his struggle. Therefore: Hoping For Good News.’
Steve Lowry – ‘There’s no mellow way of describing the subject of the lyrics to ‘Put Down Your Host’. It’s a song about dealing with bereavement. In this case, the sudden, totally unexpected and horrifying death of my Dad. The majority of lines in the song are directly related to this, whilst some are taking a glimpse of outlooks on life.
When Lee sent me several instrumental tracks to choose from, it was pretty clear to me which was the most suited and the one I should start working on. I’m grateful and happy that I was asked to do something like this. I think it was good to experience concentrating purely on the lyrics and the way they are sung. It took me out of my comfort zone to write to someone else’s music, which I think was an experience that could also help, as all these learnings tend to help you grow and get better at what you do’.
So, there it is then, the EP premiere of Hike The Peak and Three. Three is but the third of five total EP releases within this collaborative and unequivocally refreshing injection to this subsect of Punk-Rock. Find everything you need below.
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