Handsome Karnivore – Entities From The Fog

Today, we have an excellent New Jersey trio on our pages. I wasn’t familiar with this band until a couple of days ago, and I’m spinning their tunes since. Handsome Karnivore is such a brilliant name for a band. It somehow adds a bit of wittiness, but these folks are not joking around when it comes to writing and composing excellent indie rock music. The band was formed around 2012, played and toured a lot, and released two critically acclaimed full-length releases, Characteristics Of Instrumental Silence and The Chaotic Static Between Shadow And Substance. Like many other bands, Handsome Karnivore went through ups and downs, lineup changes, and some other things that led them to disbandment. Luckily, a few persistent members returned and started working on Entities From The Fog, their third full-length release, about which I would like to talk a little bit more today.

Entities From The Fog carries dozen of excellent indie rock songs, but the sound of Handsome Karnivore goes far beyond simplistic indie sound. These guys are taking it seriously and on an entirely new level compared to what other contemporaries have to offer on the scene nowadays. Right off the bat, you’ll notice these experienced musicians spent some time working on these songs, and the result is more than evident. Entities From The Fog bursts with enormous quality, which can be heard in other genres like progressive rock, psychedelic rock, space rock, post-rock, post-metal, and classic metal. Their exquisite musicianship and brilliant ideas are vividly hearable in each composition enclosed within this album. Each number possesses something special that makes this listening experience even greater every time you decide to spin this record, but as usually is the case, there are even more details than meets the eye.

The first thing you’ll notice is how psychedelic and progressive Entities From The Fog truly is, but do not forget that indie rock is still the primary weapon of choice of the band. You may also stumble on some classic hard rock, rock’n’roll, and power pop moments when the band bends all the rules of these genres, but still somehow manages to sound good and in harmony with their primary music direction. It’s nearly mindblowing how Handsome Karnivore transforms from an extremely progressive rock beast to a more moderate, simplistic, calmy poppy band. This band likes to go to extremes, but every genre suits them well. You’ll immediately notice their excellent acoustic chord progressions, riffs, cathartic chants, dynamic beats, and other sonic delicacies, performed with so much sense of balance. You should give Entities From The Fog a chance if you’re into complex indie rock music, enhanced by psych and prog rock virtuosities and maneuvers. Entities From The For is available for listening on all streaming services.