Hujan: Sang Enemy

By Aizyl Azlee • 01 Aug 2012 in Review

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STORMING UP THE GENRES
We don’t even know where to begin with this one. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if Hujan is crazy adventurous, or if they’re mastermind pranksters a la the rumoured conspiracy of Exit Through the Gift Shop. Sang Enemy throws old time fans off the scent of their original influences like The Strokes, which was closely associated with the band. This time around, you’re hit with a barrage of heaviness that is unseemingly Hujan.

Sang Enemy sees the band touching base on every possible genre they could fit into the 8-track album but most obviously, they’re leaning towards a mix of metalcore and pop rock (more Mr Big than sh!t like Train) with ‘Kuala Lumpur Oh Kuala Lumpur’ sounding reminiscent of the old Power Rangers theme. Don’t get us wrong. This is no hate rant. We’re just shocked (and pleasantly so) by the new sound on the album.

The album opens to a sweet ‘Overture’ that injects a native tone that distracts you from what’s to come, but seamlessly fades off into ‘Janji Kita’ that slowly escalates the album’s sound to the heavier one that Hujan has adopted. But as far as their newfound amusement with pinch harmonics goes, their best works on Sang Enemy are their collaboration pieces, especially ‘Ke Selatan’ that features DJ Souljah, DJ 12, Wise and Tarantula.

With their new sound, Hujan is taking a giant risk of losing some of their older fans, but they’re probably gonna get a new legion of die hards from a new demographic. Either way, it’s a real exciting time for Hujan and their Raingers.

LISTEN TO: ‘Rumah Kita’, ‘DBS’, ‘Ke Selatan’, ‘Kembara’
IF YOU LIKE THIS YOU’LL DIG: The Strokes, Mr Big, Underoath
RATING: 3