To be releasing your second album on modern progressive rock's label Mecca, Sargent House, by the age of 20, you've got to have chops oozing from every pore and creativity in abundance. Henry Kohen certainly fits the bill, and on Arizona, he reasserts his volcanic potential. Once again handling all instruments, the guitar-centric one man band has expanded and honed his distinctly alt-rock influenced songwriting; judging by the incendiary fuzzy fret work of "King Sleep," the Smashing Pumpkins could be his Led Zeppelin. While all the songs are well formed and Kohen has put considerable work into shaping his gritty melodic shouting voice, the riff reigns supreme in Mylets.
Considering how much awe the burgeoning six-string master's blistering note bombs can inspire, the inclusion of rhythms of a similar level of inventive potency would take Mylets' music to the next level, whether it be an acoustic human touch or more time spent carving out digital sounds and patterns invested with more distinct personality; his growing knack for drum programming is evident on the crunchy industrial beats bubbling throughout dreamy penultimate interlude, "Homes." With just nine tracks, half of which are under three minutes, Arizona feels brief but there's also no filler to speak of, giving listeners a lean taste of Kohen's continuing mission to discover a broadening array of finger tip fireworks with which to light up the world of rock.
(Sargent House)Considering how much awe the burgeoning six-string master's blistering note bombs can inspire, the inclusion of rhythms of a similar level of inventive potency would take Mylets' music to the next level, whether it be an acoustic human touch or more time spent carving out digital sounds and patterns invested with more distinct personality; his growing knack for drum programming is evident on the crunchy industrial beats bubbling throughout dreamy penultimate interlude, "Homes." With just nine tracks, half of which are under three minutes, Arizona feels brief but there's also no filler to speak of, giving listeners a lean taste of Kohen's continuing mission to discover a broadening array of finger tip fireworks with which to light up the world of rock.