Portland’s post-punk quartet Huak has an incredibly agitated sound-it is loud, fast and heated. The songs take turn after turn, stop, go, stop, go and explode. They seem to be powered by some sort of schizophrenic engine over which they have no control.
Jake Lowry and Joel Glidden’s guitars are jagged, crunchy and often panned to the left and right like a pair of armed guards. Stephan Hanson seems to have undertaken a role of leadership with his bass playing-his parts keeps the songs reigned in. Drummer Mike Cunnane, who also plays in the RattleSnakes, is a clever timekeeper and pounds his kit with a Keith Moon intensity.
Lowry sings with both a contained, hushed tone and a distressed scream. Glidden’s background vocals are often featured in a call-and-response fashion.
It is remarkable how a quartet so frantic can remain completely trussed together. Though Huak is all over the place, they seem familiar with every direction they take.
Lowry and Glidden work at Critical Insights, a market research polling company on Exchange Street. The company surveys the population on topics ranging from hockey equipment to heating oil, but most commonly, politics.
The 2008 election was Lowry’s fourth tracking poll cycle. The nature of the work, on top of its tediousness, has inspired many Huak lyrics.
“The only time the opinion of the masses is ever referenced is once every cycle,” he says.
“Stats and Demographics,” from their new EP “Modicum,” is the direct result of these concerns. The song begins with a jiving post-punk swagger and builds to a nervous monologue about the polling cycle.
“It’s an election year/ and it feels so good to finally count again,” Lowry sings.
Modicum, which was spotlessly recorded by Peapod Recordings helmsman Ron Harrity, is a succinct 5-song demonstration of Huak’s dark vivacity. Lowry says the EP is the most accurate representation of Huak’s sound and ideas. Peapod will release it next month.
The EP’s opener, “Monument” is a good example of the temporariness of the band’s ideas. The song’s six-second intro is immediate and catchy and could rightfully be expanded into a song itself. But, as with each subsequent portion of the song, it moves on to the next thing. This economical approach-packing as many ideas as possible into three or four minutes-works well for Huak. The fleeting nature of their songs’ parts illustrates their interest in always playing something new.
The EP’s big surprise is the instrumental “Secret Trees,” which began as a 20-minute studio jam. Ron Harrity, whom Lowry calls a “master of Pro-Tools,” cut up the song and assembled a three-minute collage from its best parts. The piece is tied together by an electronic bossa nova beat and intermittent reversed guitar leads.
Last month, Huak and the RattleSnakes opened for the influential Boston post-punk band Mission of Burma at the Space Gallery. Lowry says the show, which sold out, was the best thing he’s ever been a part of. The members of Huak cite Burma as a direct influence and were struck by their generosity.
“There wasn’t any rock-star pretension at all, which is something I really value,” Lowry says.
Huak shows are notorious for their punk rowdiness and intimacy. Lowry feels that Portland lacks enough venues for those types of performances.
“I like playing in living rooms and garages with people standing two feet from your face,” Lowry says. “I want to influence people the same way I was influenced by going to shows at the Well.”
The Well was an all-ages venue on Forest Avenue operated by the Salvation Army that closed its doors in 2001.
Huak’s next performance is at the Empire Dine and Dance on March 20 with the Portland the pop group The 500s and the rock quintet Isobell.
www.myspace.com/huak
www.peapodrecordings.com