The Hue - Beyond Words CD

Read the review of this CD on Home Grown Music.net

The Hue is aggressive progressive instrumental rock. Seamless, flowing compositions with furious musicianship and a sense of elation rarely found among progressive rock practitioners are the staple of The Hue's ever-expanding catalogue. The quartet brings the audience along for a barrage of rock's ferocity cut with jazz's meticulousness & sense of melody, all tied together with funk sensibilities that lead to unforgettable crests. The Hue is the sonic version of building a precisely symmetrical museum for Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Return to Forever, and Miles Davis during the Bitches Brew era with just a dab of Tortoise, immediately torching it to the ground and starting over again.

The band's bag of tricks has grown considerably within the last year to include simpler harmony-driven melodies that tell stories, even without lyrics, alongside searing tunes laden with odd-metered syncopated mayhem. From grinding metal and rich post-rock to expressive harmonic jazz, The Hue takes a fiery dose of dueling guitars mixed with a machine-precise rhythm section to reach explosive peaks.

The band built its chops through prestigious jazz programs at DePaul University and Berklee College of Music, but bring a wholly inventive perspective to the table. Guitarists Jared Rabin & Marcus Rezak interweave intricate lines, each adding a unique counterpoint to the other's distinctive style. Bassist Kyle Meyers balances high and low registers to add an underlying harmony, while still maintaining clockwork rhythm. Drummer Brian Gilmanov's thunderous double bass trickery and flying speeds punctuated with lively, mathematical fills provide a rock-solid base.

Emerging out of a weekly stint at Chicago's Wise Fools Pub in January 2007, The Hue has built an impressive roster of venues and festivals throughout the U.S., including stops at the 2008 and 2009 Summer Camp and 10,000 Lakes festivals. They have played alongside Ray White, Ike Willis and Mike Keneally, all past collaborators with Frank Zappa. The Hue has also shared stages with the Wood Brothers, Karl Denson, Bryan Beller, Garaj Mahal, The Motet, New Monsoon and The New Mastersounds, as well as members of Umphrey's McGee and The New Deal.

The Hue released their first full-length album, Beyond Words, in the fall of 2009 to follow up their debut EP, Unscene (2007). The album, featuring keyboard virtuoso Eric Levy (Garaj Mahal), captures the intensity of the band's live shows, while showing their expanding compositional strengths and undeniable musical prowess.

Check out this link for The Hue's track by track commentary.

Track List:

1. Blackout listen
2. Igneous Pillow listen
3. Quiet Defiance listen
4. From Anger listen
5. Like Lines listen
6. Bipolar Pride listen
7. Shatter For Now listen
8. Only Way Out listen
9. Waking Visions listen


Released in 2009.