REVIEW: RedHook - Mutation

Sydney-based female fronted alt-rock band RedHook are back with their second album.

Following on from their first LP last year, 'Postcard From A Living Hell', ‘Mutation’ adds eleven songs to their discography, all mixed by James Paul Wisner, who is known for his work with Underøath and Paramore amongst others. Frontwoman Emmy Mack states “RedHook has always felt like a bit of a misfit. A lot of people don't quite 'get' us. But we didn't make this record for those people. We made it for the ones like us. The misfits, the outliers, the weirdos", but there's already a lot of hype around this album, with plenty of it coming from fans the band won over with their debut, so the band have clearly managed to find plenty of us weirdos already! With that said, let's dig into the album and see what they've got to look forward to.

Kicking off the album with a bang we have two of the singles off of the album, 'Pyromaniac' followed by ‘Break Up With’, which showcase Mack’s vocals from the get-go, along with a pair of catchy riffs and choruses. Following this is 'Hexxx' featuring Vana, which has a heavier feel to it, not least due to the two female vocalists perfectly complimenting each other across the length of the song. Next up is a particular highlight off the album - 'Dr Frankenstein' feat. Holding Absence. The song starts with Mack’s vocals before Holding Absence’s Lucas Woodland joins on the second chorus and their voices merge together seamlessly. The track deals with a toxic love story, using the metaphor of Frankenstein's monster to examine it from both sides in a vulnerable moment of introspection.

Then we have ‘Bomb.com’ and ‘Hot Tub’ which again, are full of catchy beats and choruses made to sing along to. However, at this point you can notice the album feels a little repetitive at points, where some songs do feel quite similar to others, and there's not always as much distinction between songs as you might like. Following on from this though is 'Cannibal' featuring Alpha Wolf, which differentiates itself by having the heaviest vocals on the album. As the track breaks down, we hear screams from Alpha Wolf combined with a heavy bassline, which keeps it feeling dark and almost claustrophobic, especially in comparison with earlier songs on 'Mutation'.

‘Hurt Like Hell’ and ‘Party Zombie’ are up next as we approach the end of the album. Both have very catchy drumbeats with heavy breakdowns, before the vocals lift back up towards the end of the songs to let them finish with an uplifting tone. We then arrive at the penultimate track ‘Scream 2’, which feels very heavily influenced by Ice Nine Kills, even going as far as using the same kind of naming convention as them! Finally, the album ends on ‘Tourist’ which portrays the bandmembers' storytelling skills through their lyrics. The tracks tells of a toxic relationship, but with a motivational and uplifting feel. Mack sings “Now I’m waving bon voyage to all your bullshit”, which is likely going to resonate with plenty of people listening.

RedHook have delivered a great set of tunes on 'Mutation'. This album is definitely a ramp up from their debut, and whilst it doesn’t contain as many dark, deep themes as their previous LP did, that is not to say that this album hasn’t broached new ground for the band and taken them forward. From the iconic collaborations which feature, to Mack’s captivating vocals, the band are paving their own way to stardom.

'Mutation' will be released on November 22nd via Adventure Cat Records.

Words: Amy Watson

Photos: RedHook