Members
Vincent Chin (guitars)
Daniel Wee (bass)
Stanley Teo (drums)
Who they are
In order of release, they were,"The Mojo Sessions", "The Songs Will Always Be There" and "Moth and Bagpipes". Pained Stained Morning, our debut CD, was a collection of old songs from these demos and some new tracks. The deal with Pony Canyon came about through the help of Chris Ho who introduced our music to Jimmy Wee of Pony Canyon.
Pained Stained Morning had some big names working on it. Producer/Engineer Frank Lee and Shah Tahir primarily contributed a lot to the style of the music. The album sleeve was conceived by Ho Keen Fi, Man Loon and the band.
If anything, the band owes much to the producers who helped shape our sound and presenting us presentably. - Leslie Low
Reviews
(Gig)
Yesterday (Sat 15 Feb 97) was the first day of the Epson Colour Adventure at Takashimaya Basement 2. There was a guy in a yellow-and-blue superhero costume, giving free balloons to little kids. There were women in baby-tees and short mini-skirts doing the same. Sex and computers (and a superhero).
Incongruously, Humpback Oak was going to play in the middle of all this.
I'm sure most people couldn't be bothered; few paid much attention to the band during its half-hour set. I think even less had any idea just who the four young men on stage were, or cared very much at all that it was one of the best sets I've ever seen them deliver.
Their loss.
I've seen Humpback Oak play several times over the past twelve months, and have been singularly unimpressed every time. But last night, they restored my faith in them. Like the anonymous presenter said, they are simply "one of the finest college bands in this region".
Humpback Oak have always had a slightly mellow, folk-rock sort of sound. But they had a new, harder edge last night. There was more distortion, the songs were more complex, the general sound was more indie-rock than before. But the riffs were as catchy as before, and the melodies were still there. Most important of all, the passion and emotion had not gone away.
Leslie Low's voice was still as weary and heart-rending. If the band had been playing in a dark bar with lonely people staring morosely into their drinks, you might have more than a few suicides on your hands. It makes you wonder, just how it is that a young man with such a friendly smile, can write such painful lyrics and sing them with such heart-felt emotion.
They played six songs, the first five of which were new. "Home", the first song, had an unusually discordant chorus. Humpback Oak songs tend to be quite flowing and smooth, and it's a welcome change to hear them trying out new things. In this case, it worked.
The strangely-titled "Oh, The Load, Heavy Don't Float" was next. It's a Nick Cave-ish song, a slow funereal dirge with military-sounding drumming. With Leslie's penchant for depressing lyrics, the only surprise is that Humpback Oak didn't take this path earlier. This was followed by the rocking "Balm".
The real highlight of the set was "Pain". It's an introspective smouldering song, with a sad mournful feel to it. It's easily one of the best songs ever by Humpback Oak. All the important ingredients were there: sad lyrics (and a chorus to kill yourself to), a melody beautiful in its sadness, and inspired but restrained playing.
The last of the new songs was "Ghost Father", a slow-burning, bluesy song very much in keeping with the set. They then wrapped it up with an old song : "Bury Bury", given an up-tempo arrangement which, frankly, is rather more engaging than the original.
Humpback Oak played again on Tuesday 18 Feb 97 at the Sparks World Music Bar, together with The Ordinary People. Like they said, there's no finer time time to be alive. - Limabean
