Review Summary: Hawaiian vaporwave...
I recently discovered Haircuts for Men and was absorbed into this euphoric universe the prolific, Hawaiian vaporwave artist creates. It is quite a task to go through the dozens of albums Andre Maximillion released, but the latest journey,
HFM88 is a perfect gateway. The LP presents one hour of downtempo based jams carefully layered from various bits and samples into one beautiful, cohesive listen. These songs feel timeless and evoke complex vibes. At times, I was relaxed in a lounging-on-the-beach kind of way as the trip hop beats on “Chillwalker” and “The Descent 2” gently cruised by, complete with warm synths and saxophones. Also, the Latino-infused acoustic guitar on “Carbon Copies” amplified this breezy atmosphere amid groovy bass lines. Suddenly, a touch of nostalgia crept upon me, especially on the laid back “Free Dreaming”. The downtuned, melancholic keys represent best the sound of an era long gone, as if listened through an old cassette player.
Luckily,
HFM88 doesn’t delve too much on downers, switching to a late night, often sensual lounge tone for the second half. Cuts such as “Officer Callahan” & “Boones Afterparty” play smooth collages of jazzy chill out origins. The former features calm piano leads over a mellow bass, unfolding so softly it could put you to sleep. Meanwhile, “Boones Afterparty” takes cues from those Café Del Mar ambient compilations full of guitar leads and brass keys. This trip continues until “Yuri Krivonsischenko” and “Paracausally Inept” close the LP with sunnier themes. Whoever came up with those cozy synthesizer pads, which ultimately graced thousands of similar tracks, deserves endless praise. You can never seem to get enough of them. Although most of the parts are chopped and manipulated from various other artists’ music, Haircuts for Men did a splendid job creating a familiar but complex sound that feels his very own. Perhaps a bit longer than it should have been,
HFM88 does its job nevertheless. You can actively listen to it or just leave it running in the background. Andre’s discography is quite massive, still, this is a lovely, immediate affair that deserves more exposure.
