Harmonijkowy Atak - Harpcore (2012)

Rarely or never have we seen ourselves confronted with such conflicting feelings as after the, numerous, listenings to this album. Alternately press the finger on the repeat or the skip button. Reviews clashing between excellent and superfluous again. It is not easy this "Harpcore" from Harmonijkowy Atak. From the name of the album you will already be able to deduce that the harmonica or bluesharp will be given the lead role on this release. And maybe you already realized that the group name sounds Polish. The four Kaminski, Kielak, Leczycki and Wisniewski + a few guest musicians whose name we will save you are indeed no less than excellent practitioners of the harmonica.

The album has some doubts, blues, funk and soul and that is a shame. How about on one and the same album "Walking Blues" and "Bad Girls"? However, it starts out promising musically with Dr John's "Right Place, Wrong Time", the vocals in this song often evoke images of Homer Simpson, a phenomenon that would later repeat itself with different songs. But musically, the essence is repeated, a more than decent cover. The first track is coming with the second track "Bad Girls" you probably know from Donna Summer. The disco atmosphere is retained in the subsequent "Higher & Higher", covered many times and an earwig full of enthusiasm but one that you want to get rid of as quickly as possible. And then suddenly there comes an excellent version of T.J. White's "Steamy Windows", not aunt Tina-wise but sounding like a nice tribute to the author. This is a song for which we pressed the repeat several times. And so the album continues. A totally superfluous version of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" is then succeeded again by a downright brilliant cover of Robert Johnson's "Walking Blues", wonderfully stomped on driving drum lines.

We really don't know what to do with this album. We cannot demolish or praise them. The highlights are too scarce to postpone this release. On the other hand, harmonica lovers will be able to enjoy the once jazzy, then bluesy or wailing game of the gentlemen. Listen for yourself. ~Luc Meert