So, here we are. Two years on since Lunar Ticks. Two years of hard work, creativity and love. Two years well-bloody-spent.
Hanami Family are back and better than ever with their latest release “From the Rubble a Garden Will Grow”. The sun beats down and temperatures soar as I sit down to write this, the final minute or so of Garden Dance is blasting through my HiFi turning the soundscape in my house to something that resembles Santana at Woodstock 1969 – but this album goes much deeper than a talented bunch of musicians jamming. This album is an astonishingly beautiful, summery, hypnotic masterpiece that finds a way to fuse Jazz, Psych and Folk into one beautiful musical baby.
At this point I could go on to say how the album is the perfect blend of Dylan meets Zappa meets Bowie but that’s completely subjective and this, in fact, is Hanami Family and nothing but that. Keeley and John’s vocals complement each other like salt and pepper, they are also so incredibly in tune with each other in so many more ways than just musically. Time freezes when I listen to this album, at least for the first half with tracks like Willow filling me with reassurance; much like a lullaby to a child. The second half of the album holds considerably more groove and a hell of a lot of FONK. Tracks like Garden Dance and Cold Blooded Master make it near impossible for me to not tap my foot, never mind take the huge cheek to cheek grin off my face.
Overall, I really REALLY like this album. It fills me with a real sense of positivity and joy. It’s an album that’s hard not to get behind, a perfect blend of easy listening grass roots folk with elements of jazz, salsa, jazz-rock and rare groove.
Dom Ogden
