Sons of Huns

YOU COULD BLAME the demise of the power trio on any number of factors. Perhaps its expiration date came when Jack and Meg White decided they didn't know any good bassists, or when Green Day hired a bunch of extra musicians to replicate their Broadway show tunes in front of paying crowds. Thank God, then—or Satan, or whatever—for Portland trio Sons of Huns, who have erased the heinous atrocities committed by power trios past. (Sublime, we are looking in your fratty direction.) They've done this by keeping things as focused as possible: blasted, bludgeoning rock that moves like a shark through blood-scented water—fast, focused, and when the time is right, frenzied.

The group, made up of guitarist/vocalist Peter Hughes, bassist/vocalist Shoki Tanabe, and drummer Ryan Northrop, encompasses a wide range of bombastic styles, from metal to garage to stoner to far-out psychedelia, but their resulting music is lean and mean. As such, the band has a firm grasp on an entirely original sound, evidenced on their self-titled EP, which came out earlier this year on the High Scores and Records label. "Simplicity is key," says Tanabe. "In the studio, we just plug in and record everything live. Raw, as simple as it can be, and say the best statement in the fewest words."

In October, the trio laid down tracks with Portland producer Pat Kearns at his PermaPress Recording studio, resulting in the band's two crispest recordings to date: "The Wanderer" is a taut, speedy rock number without a trace of fat on its bones; guitar, bass, and drums are girded together in perfect sync, and call-and-response vocals give the song a whiplash urgency. And "Leaving Your Body" is a drop-tuned, lockstep bit of bong-ready metal, in which a relentless riff reigns overlord, with a 12/8 beat and vocals that sound like they're emerging from a statue of a demonic deity that's somehow been animated to life.

In the new year, the band will shop this excellent pair of new tunes around to labels for release as a 7-inch, and they're also working with director Matt Ross on a video for "Leaving Your Body." "It's gonna be kind of a social commentary," says Northrop. "It's a cult that kidnaps a white-collar businessman and takes him out into the forest to sacrifice him, and all this shit happens." Meanwhile, Banana Stand Media has a live set recorded earlier this year that will be released as a download in 2012. It will feature a number of new songs that the band has yet to record in the studio. Furthermore, Sons of Huns are aiming to get down to South by Southwest in March, where, for the first time, national ears will be able to bear witness to one of Portland's best local bands.

The trio came together after Tanabe and Northrop played together in the band Patterns. Tanabe and Hughes had previously played together in bands like the Awful Din, and the three seemed like a natural combination. "We were listening to a lot of Sonics at the time, stripper-beat kind of stuff," Northrop says, although the band quickly notes that their sound—at first instrumental, before they added lyrics and vocals to the songs—almost immediately went far beyond that initial spark.

Hughes adds, "We were sitting around at Shoki's old place, and we were like, 'Why don't we just play exactly what we want to do?' Like MC5 kicking out the jams. We were just like, 'Let's bring all we've got—nothing short of full on.'"
- Ned Lannamann - Portland Mercury

BY KYLE HELSTEIN
AUG 31 8:33AM
I came to Bunk Bar tonight to watch a couple bands play and write an article like usual, but the first thing I noticed when I walked into the bar was the image of a man walking along rail road tracks in a desolate desert landscape. He was walking with a look of such determination and concentration on his face that you knew he was on a journey. In my mind I saw myself, I wanted to go on a journey and find something. I wanted to redefine my reason for listening to music. I wanted to remember the intensity and joy bands displayed when they were performing and how their excitement made it fun for me.

I think I found what I was looking for tonight. I set out to just watch some bands play, however, I was shown what was lacking in my life as I remembered back to my youth.

I also noticed a familiar face in this crowded room, someone I had previously written about, Onuinu, was at the door taking the cover charge for the bands. It was great to see that in this community of artists that people are willing to help one another out.

This was my first time ever being in Bunk Bar and my first time seeing Monoplane and Sons of Huns play, and I have to tell you, it was quite exciting. Both bands had such unique styles, but I heard the resonance of bands I listened to growing up.

For a while I thought Rock n’ Roll was pasts its prime and that a lot of these bands calling themselves “rock” were not doing it justice. Then came Monoplane with a resurgence of 90’s grunge rock mixed with the rock n’ roll of the 60’s and 70’s. The band's bass sound was so heavy I felt like I had arrhythmia. This was the kind of raw sound I remembered listening to as a child. At one point during Monoplane’s set I saw a girl going from a female hipster dance into doing a C Walk. I think that made my night. I just had to throw that in there because that was the best.

Next and final on this journey of rediscovery was Sons of Huns. This band teeters on the edge of rock and something else I listened to in high school and college: Southern Rock a.k.a Southern Hardcore. These were such bands as Everytime I Die, Maylene, and the Songs of Disaster. SOH wasn’t as hard as these bands but still gave off such an electrifying sound and such good breakdowns that the crowd was dancing and ended up spilling beer on me. That's when you know you're seeing rock n roll, when the beer gets everywhere. - BePortland.com

What separates Portland band Sons of Huns' self-titled debut EP from your everyday, run-of-the-mill, crudely recorded, homegrown garage punk? Quite a lot, actually, but let's start with the most obvious: These guys can fucking play. Nearly every song is emblazoned with whirling guitar solos, catapulting these compact, abrasive nuggets out of the basement and into that rare, awesome area where psych, prog, punk, and metal all bump fists and pat asses. "House of Groan" caroms like an amphetamine bender, with Peter Hughes' guitar looping and twirling around the thunderous fretless bass of Shoki Tanabe—yes, it's fretless, and yes, it totally works—and firecracker drums of Ryan Northrop. And "Behemoth Hop" plays like the B-side of the trashiest single from the grimiest '60s garage band that ever lumbered into a dirt-cheap recording studio. In other words, Sons of Huns are incredible, and you will love them. - Ned Lannamann - Portland Mercury