Releasing a double LP as their debut full length was a risky move, but HYMNS have definitely delivered with ‘Cardinal Sins/Contrary Virtues’.
Opening with a choral moment sets the mood for the rest of the record: dark. Really pissing dark. The first track proper, ‘Repent and Rebuild’, builds slowly to a huge, ferocious conclusion and then the ‘Cardinal Sins’ really kick off.
Sounding like a hybrid of Blakfish/Blur, ‘Cardinal Sins’ swiftly turns into a furious attack on organised religion. ‘Idyllic in Nature, Horrendous in Habit’ and ‘A Punch to the Temple’ are the obvious stand outs, the former being fast and aggressive and the latter a more catchy, almost poppy affair, that WILL get stuck in your head.
‘Cardinal Sins’ is an intelligent, well crafted, aggressive record that easily stands alone and whilst not perfect – the two piece set up means tracks infrequently lack that other dimension that could make them tremendous – is certainly worth a listen.
If ‘Cardinal Sins’ is the hard side of the record, ‘Contrary Virtues’ is the softer side. Kicking off with the organ led ‘Miracles’, the Blur influence is at its most obvious. Following ‘Miracles’ is ‘Honesty’, an acoustic track that’s lyrically driven rather than musically and sounds a bit like Road Trippin’ by the Red Hot Chili Peppers (in a good way).
The rest of ‘Contrary Virtues’ follows much of the same formula found at the start of the record to satisfying results, eventually edging out ‘Cardinal Sins’ as the better of the two sides of the record.
With ‘Cardinal Sins/Contrary Virtues’, Hymns have tried something a bit different with varying levels of success. Two downers with the double records are that the influences are sometimes worn a little two obviously on sleeves and that the over use of the church organ verges on making the record seem gimmicky. However, the strength of the tracks outweighs these issues, and whilst not a particularly ‘fun‘, ‘Cardinal Sins/Contrary Virtues’ is another brilliant release from a UK band in 2011.
HENRY McCAUGHTRIE