HAMFATTER ~ CASSIOPEIA

Dragon's Den-funded fifth effort from indie chiefs.

After four albums scrabbling around the indie depths, the splendidly named Hamfatter appeared on Dragon's Den begging for £75,000 to record their next three albums. Amazingly, Dragon Peter Jones succumbed. Wisely they've spent their cash on a top-notch production from Joe Chicarelli (he's engineered Frank Zappa, Elton John and U2). A big, lush sound suits Hamfatter, and 'Iceland' seems to be propelled by an orchestra, even if they sound more like the Kaiser Chiefs than recent Kaiser Chiefs on 'The Beats'. Elsewhere, 'BBC VI' and 'So We Go' are rammed with curly, insistent melodies. Jones just might get his money back.

Reviewed in Q Magazine by John Aizlewood, UK

It has been a long wait since the appearance of Hamfatter on Dragon’s Den - they say they’re still getting over the shock! They have stayed true to their ‘indie’ sound and principles with Brit pop legends like Blur immediately springing to mind. And wow! - Hamfatter certainly have a bigger sound on Cassiopeia with synths, mellotrons and organs making an appearance with a synth bass line on ‘Money’- would you believe it? Another reminder that the band hasn’t forgotten its past is the return to the ‘How Sweet It Is’ theme first visited on their last album What Part of Hamfatter Do You Not Understand? Speaking to Radio 1’s Chris Moyles, Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Peter Jones explained why he was prepared to invest in Hamfatter describing them as “a little bit like Coldplay with amphetamines sprinkled in their tea. There was something different about them.”

There is a refreshing honesty about Hamfatter’s music as well as on the autobiographical baring of the soul lyrics of ‘Iceland’ - they’ve done this before on great songs like ‘Sziget’ and ‘Girls from Graz’. When lead singer Eoin O’Mahony belts out the lyrics of ‘Iceland’ you are there with him and sharing the experience. The extra vividness in the production and the orchestration in this song is a winner and propels Hamfatter to a different level. Their homage to BBC is also very personal and opinionated, and why not? Many bands avoid singing about anything that is vaguely controversial but when Hamfatter ask “What happened to the golden eras of the 40s and 60s?” they strike a chord and reveal a maturity beyond their years! Sure, they still need to develop their song writing to aspire to the dizzy heights of the sixties and how about an acoustic number or two but - hey! - this is 2010 and the muscular playing on numbers like ‘Sophocles’ is right for the times.

I was particularly looking forward to hearing the final track ‘This is How We Live’ which, at 6:35 strays beyond the customary 3 or 4 minutes to see how far this ‘musical muscle’ extended. The retro organ, psych Beatles feel (early on), excellent offbeat drumming and upper fret bass added to an infectious chorus and - at last - a guitar solo - shows a direction I hope the band will consider exploring further. They not only pack a lot into 3 or 4 minutes they also have the ability to expand into a space. Musically, the best thing on the album! I cannot detect a hit single here although I am sure there are one or two! Still the NME and The Sun have already expressed an interest in this band and Hamfatter has already done well in the indie charts. Could this be the big breakthrough to reward Peter’s investment? I genuinely think so. It’s an amazing album which repays repeated listening. This is no flash in the pan pop, it’s music that’s built to last! Be sure to pre-order a copy of the limited CD/download, released on 31 January 2011. My thanks to Simon Felton of Pink Hedgehog Records for introducing Hamfatter to the world and also for sending me a promo copy of ‘Cassiopeia’!

Reviewed at Zeitgeist by Phil Jackson, UK