Hot on the heels of my review for The One’s debut album, Sunrise, here we have another addition to the stable of Dutch label Construction Records, instrumental outfit Hackberry. This coming Friday (12th May 2023 for those of you reading in the future!) sees the release of Breathing Space, and what a fabulous work it is, one of those albums which speak to you without needing to breathe a word.

The band have previously self-released two works, namely an EP Desert Orchid in 2016, and a self-titled album in 2018. As with all such acts, signing to a label takes the project up several notches. The line-up is Francesco Bonardi & Marijn De Boer on guitars, Tim Hidskes on keys, Simon Venema on bass guitar, and Chris Bechtum on drums.

There is a great deal going on here, so let’s go with a few words on the music.

We open with Lunares, nigh on sixteen minutes of music and an expression of exploration. As soon as the headphones recognise the deep, pulsing, moody bass guitar of Venema, you know that you are going to be in pretty good company. Any fans of the bass guitar played as a lead instrument will be all over this, and the riff continues after the rest of the band enter the fray, and I love the synchronicity between bass and Bechtum on drums. There are some chugging guitar riffs with some classic sounding keys above them in this opening passage. The keyboard solo which is embedded is one fans of 70’s prog rock will immediately appreciate.  

The second segment of the song arrives at four minutes in. It is a dreamier passage of music, with a particularly lovely guitar accompanied by that continued bassline. It is basically a decent mix of psych and stoner rock, and extremely interesting, and when the pace picks up, you are swept along with it. There is a brief Lord-inspired Hammond sequence before we enter a very urgent passage with some thumping riffs overlaid by the Hammond and some swirling guitar chords. It takes me back to some of those extended instrumental pieces you used to hear at rock gigs back in the day and fans of classic rock/metal will take much pleasure from it.

Nine minutes in, the next passage starts. The pace is slowed down considerably, and that bass is predominant leading the rest of the band, and there are some very interesting time changes going on here. A piano is beautifully played alongside the recurring bass in a wonderfully delicate segment of music, which expands a bit when the guitars join the fray without ever over dominating. The collective takes this theme forward for a wee while before a heavier symphonic segment is provided.

The closing passage veers between quietly thoughtful, soaring synth choral voice, and some crushing riffs and the climax when we reach our destination is a joyful noise. What a start to an album this is. The track is embedded below – give yourself time to listen, draw in, and appreciate.

Solitary March follows this. Ten minutes plus, it is introduced by some tuneful guitar work, Bonardi & De Boer collaborating to forceful effect. There are some beautiful ghostly notes introduced on electric guitar together with a wonderfully understated rhythm section showing the dexterity of this band in providing us with what can only be described as soulful music, and even when the sound explodes just short of two minutes in, that description is very much still apt, the guitar solo screaming and crying mournfully at the pain of the exercise undertaken by the subject of the march. The tone changes then to reflect the settling in period when the initial pain is replaced by a dogged determination. The piano is funky, and the riffs can quite easily be danced to, with lilting chords and a rhythmic delight on bass & drums. Think of a Caribbean influenced hard rock act, and you wouldn’t be too far off this inspired passage of music which segues into a more traditional keyboard layered set of riffs which I think fans of mid-period Rush, especially, will take a great deal of pleasure from. When this ends, we get the most achingly lovely guitar duet with a soul filled bassline and drums talking to us as the finish line comes into sight, the uplifting adrenaline which fills you with joy when an ordeal reaches its end, and this is signalled by the raucous noise which is the final 90 seconds of a deeply impressive piece of music. I will not hear a better instrumental story in 2023, end of.

The third track is Foreshadow, a warning or a signal of events to come and, indeed, the opening segment is very pensive, building up to a main event. Amongst the chords is a wonderful, almost military, drumroll. Pretty timely, given our King’s coronation last weekend. The main theme of the song comes laden with some expansive keyboards, some choral, against the riffs blazing underneath. There are some bright and expansive guitar bursts following. The band show their clever ability to change direction just over halfway in with some exquisite guitar loops heralding the event, crashing chords and thumps blasting out underneath. The intensity of the song deepens as it progresses, almost unnoticed really with the track including some wall of sound keyboards reminding me of classic moments, but all wrapped within a noise which defies comparison. Perhaps better than anywhere else, the core prog, grunge, metal, and psych influences are captured and merged here, but as we move into the final 90 seconds, the prog metal takes centre stage as the storm hits you, with a peaceful piano to close telling us the worst is over. There is a YT video embedded below.

We close with Manticore – I posted a video of the band performing this live a couple of nights ago on the homepage as my “video of the week” on the website, and it is still there for you to enjoy. This is, of course, a creature of legend, with a horned head, body of a lion, and the tail of a dragon. In progressive rock terms, the creature is most obviously associated with ELP, whose drummer and two shrouded video spirits can be seen on tour again soon. The blast of noise we are introduced to here bears a little relation in terms of the obvious keyboard tribute, but this soon develops into a joyously raucous set of riffs and an orchestral metal hybrid. The pace is relentless and a wonderful wall of noise featuring some great guitar chords alongside a soulful bassline. The organ just short of five minutes in provides yet another change of pace and tone, with the core riffs still there, but quieter to start before the whole band build up both the pace and volume when you can imagine the mythical creature running amok and shooting its deadly spines. The rhythm section again provides a relentless backbone supporting the guitars riffing and then with detailed solos which are technically spot on. The last three minutes, or so, have funky sets of chords and a synth crying above before morphing into a psych hard-hitting dramatic passage which presages a wonderful burst of noise. We are very cleverly brought back down to earth with a mournful closing passage before silence speaks loudly.

There is some 50 minutes of music packed into four tracks on this album, and it carries off with aplomb that challenging trick of providing a soundscape of wordless music which never once provides the listener with an opportunity to lose attention.

I really cannot emphasise enough how good this album is, a work I will continue to enjoy for many years to come. Construction Records have provided us with another very strong outfit, and you can take yourselves along to https://www.constructionrecords.nl/?Lng=en or to the band’s website at https://www.hackberryband.com/

2023 continues to bring us some wonderful music.