Hermetic

If we’re being honest, most of the ’90s should be stricken from the record with one of those Men In Black memory removal devices… including Men in Black. Cross Colors, Hypercolor, Chumbawamba and the Bronson Pinchot/Jonathon Lipnicki vehicle, Meego? Just a few of the endless cultural failures we were forced to endure.

What we can be proud of however, is the guitar rock that defined indie rock and college radio. Our anthems were gritty, loud, heartfelt and songs that sounded fantastic 20 years ago still sound great today. More importantly, unlike most time capsule revisits, bands sampling from the slacker rock catalog can build on what their heroes created without sounding like some dated rehash.

Case in point? Hermetic. This Vancouver two-piece hits hard with baritone guitar and thumping percussion and even though it could be slid into any ’90s music guy’s record collection, it still sounds fresh.

The debut LP, Civilized City, is a big sounding collection of straight ahead jams. The drums on “Preventative Arrest” are like a body shot combination that could drop King Hippo and the fuzz and soaring “ahhhs” on the title track explode through your headphones. If you like guitars, you will like huge fuzzy joints like “Sunday Best” and propulsive numbers like “Curmudgeons Club”, but there’s more at play here.

Hermetic understands how to make minor chords dance in spiky, stalactite-like melodies and how nice harmonies offset sing/sung vocals, but the band offers up some nice surprises and interesting textures to give the record much needed diversity. Harmonica gives the droning “Malingering” a roots feel, the strings that soften “Portlandish” and transform “You Can’t Go Home Again”, and pop feel of “Nixon Song” are the change in pace that lets you catch your breath and refresh the listen.

Look, we are all waiting for the release of the new record from another huge sounding Vancouver two-piece, but don’t miss out on this hidden gem while you pine about french kissing some french girls. Grab it now, and chip in 2 extra bucks to get the vinyl. - Hero Hill

Next up was the band that won over Shindig back in 2008, Hermetic. The poppy post-punk duo played an energetic set laden with killer riffs, and even if the house wasn’t packed, singer Eric Axen seemed thankful for the turnout given everything else that was going on. The group also managed to work in what may be my new favourite vocal accoutrement, harmonized whistling—overall their infectious sound was hard to deny. - Discorder

Vancouver's Hermetic are keeping the dream of '90s indie rock alive on their new self-released LP Civilized City.

The punchy two-piece of baritone guitar player/vocalist Eric Axen and drummer Bart Newman fill the 11-song affair with loud-quiet-loud pop rock that brings to minds both the refined minimalism of the Inbreds and the punchier parts of Sebadoh's Bakesale on lively numbers "Sunday Best" and "You Can't Go Home Again." Tracks like "Nixon Song," meanwhile, get juiced up with rounds of "ba-ba-bas" and squelchy keyboards.

You can stream the whole album below and pick it up on Bandcamp, but the band will be pressing the platter on vinyl sometime this spring. - Exclaim.ca

"The connection between guitarist Eric Axen and drummer Bart Newman made the set easy to enjoy, but it was the mesmerizing energy of Newman, also a member of Vancouver's Animal Names, that made it memorable." - Becky Sandler - Discorder Magazine

"Next on were Hermetic, who upped the wattage of the evening by a noticeable degree and dragged the audience irresistably to the front of the stage. With a short, hot set of three-minute indie punk blasts, barely taking a breather between each one, they easily became the favourites of the evening. Nothing says pure honest lo-fi joy like furious barrages of guitar chords, high energy and slightly shaky harmonies." - E.E. Mason - Discorder Magazine

"Here was the rock ’n’ roll juice I needed after sitting in a corner of the overcrowded, over-heated bar, straining my neck to look at the first two bands over the toques of the throng. Acid traces of Husker Du and Swervedriver bled through the first couple of songs, and it would’ve been enough to keep me in my seat if I hadn’t had to get up for work today. Hands-down, Hermetic was my favourite of the night." - Shawn Conner - Guttersnipe Blog