In a way, it's true what they say. Past success can come back to haunt you. And it's no different for Humpback Oak. The first local indie band to really break through to the mainstream (notwithstanding The Oddfellows' So Happy going to #1 way back when in 1991), it's probable that whatever they do will always be measured against 1994's Pain-Stained Morning.
Leslie Low is a songwriter par excellence, blending tortured lyrics with charming melodies. But while 1994's Pain-Stained Morning leaned towards pop music with its strong melodies, Humpback Oak's new album Ghostfather is as dark and uncompromising as it gets, in both sound and song-writing.
The band has abandoned the previous polished sheen, for a rougher, more intimate sound. And it suits the new songs just fine. They are slower, even more brooding. The guitars are insistently droney, continuing with the band's Red House Painters fixation. And judging from the lyrics, Leslie is as haunted as ever.
Haunted by the ghost of his late father, to be precise.
The title track is as clear an indication as anyone will ever get. Whenever a loved one is lost, there's always at least a tinge of regret, a wish for ourselves to have done things differently. One can almost feel Leslie breaking down, as he sings regretfully "Wish I had an image/Of something to adore". And the brooding guitar distortion as he adds "I wish for the coming/Of the dark/Comfort and I will hide/And never come out" is simply sublime.
Elsewhere, Leslie appears determined to dig through his soul, seeking catharsis in confronting his darkest thoughts. His religious ambivalence is clear in Christ In Black. The title is provocative enough, and then he starts with "I have got to get my thinking straight/Cause I always turn away/Can't fix my grin can't fix my laughter/Cause it's fake". And in If I Am Weak, he questions, "If I am right/Which lies should I fight".
The burden of modern life also weigh heavily on Leslie's heart, especially for such a sensitive soul. Home is a rejection of the materialistic urban rat-race. He calls himself "a pawn in the Singaporean Dream", and asks ironically "What is the value of my pride/It's not as much as it seemed".
But Ghostfather isn't all gloom and doom. Stressed Out has got to be one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded by a local band, and the bright production harks back to Pain-Stained Morning. It has all the trademarks of a Humpback Oak classic: dark but maddeningly-cryptic lyrics, super melody, sensitive singing, and a bonus in finger-pickin' good guitar-work.
Another gem is Pain. I've loved it ever since the first time I heard Humpback Oak play it at a gig in Taka. Here, it's acoustic. The loss of the sheer unadulterated fear and chaos of the electric guitars is compensated by an increased tension. The singing is more delicate, and the guitars taut and subtle. The chorus is delightfully dark, celebrating pain in a way which all angst-ridden youth can relate to: "Forgotten is the life full of sorrows/Pain is a void that life borrows/Rotten is the life full of sorrow/Pain is a joy".
Ghostfather is not going to be a big commercial success. It's not an easy listen, nor is it accessible the way Pain-Stained Morning was. But, in the way which classic albums do, it grows on you, and it's only after repeated listens that you begin to appreciate its true brilliance. Ghostfather marks the maturing of Humpback Oak, and Leslie Low in particular. In a year of strong local albums, it is very easily the best, and it's definitely worth your while, your time, and your money.
- Xiao Jinhong
