Hedgehog and their new LP Sound of Life Towards finally ditch the band’s darling identity that’s been fostered on indie music label Modern Sky. Instead, the record unleashes the raucous rockers the band has always been.
Rock trio Hedgehog have long captured an endearing place in the hearts and minds of westerners looking from the outside in on China’s burgeoning indie music scene. Since their debut on Modern Sky Records in 2007, they’ve pumped out a decade-long repertoire of charming 90s inspired indie rock. The trio’s prolific output has seen them release almost a record per year between 2006 to 2015.
As each album progressed, their 90s approach unconsciously stuck with the band. Time saw Hedgehog morph from the Brit-pop bounce of Noise Hit World, to the Flying Nun strums of Sun Fun Gun. The joy of listening to Hedgehog for me was in their basal explorations of the decade, and being a 90s kid, I loved it all.
My perception of Hedgehog all changed though when I saw the band play in Melbourne 2013. For the first time, I got to see what the band were really all about. My favourite track at the time was their cute single “Dear Boy I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend”. While the jangles of the single have been fundamental to the band’s popularity, I realised that hidden beneath was the band’s raucously wild side. Drummer and singer Atom, while tiny in stature, packs a powerful punch behind her kit. On recordings, Atom’s presence is always lyrical and sweet, but in person, she was wicked and outrageously fun. Guitarist Zo on later albums like Neurons definitely exercises more of his grunge guitar chops, but rarely breaks the barrier into oddity which is so present in the band’s live show.
Hedgehog’s jangles from tracks like Dear Boy I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend are so catchy, but hides the Beijing band’s raucous side.
Sound of Life Toward sees the band’s longest gap between album releases, leaving almost 3 years between records. Those couple of years saw the band switch from their prominent record label and Atom giving birth to a baby girl. Perhaps the break gave the prolific band time to dwell, or the life-changing impact of childbirth injected a new energy to the band, or maybe it’s a fresh start on a new label. Whatever it is, Hedgehog finds themselves on this record being fearlessly themselves, exactly as I saw them all those years ago.
The spectrum of their songwriting is breathtaking, with pop epics like “Longing For The Coming Warm Spring (盼暖春来)”, dirty bass driven yelps on “We are Animals (我们是动物)”, to the sweet psychedelia of “Sleepwalk Through Life (梦游一生)”. What’s noticeable is a new palette of vocals, like the B52’s style twists on “Kill Rock Stars” and even a Blondie inspired rap by Atom on “Meng Ba La Na Xi (勐巴拉娜西)”, unleashing the eccentricities of the indie band that have been gleaned over on previous records.
Tracks like Kill Rock Stars delivers all of Hedgehog’s eccentricities that have been hidden away on their previous indie rock records.
As many of us have experienced first hand, it’s hard to be truly yourself. However, the Chinese trio has never shyed away from confronting lyrics or hidden from a personal confidence in their music. As Atom said way back in 2011 in an interview with Social Alienation, “The hedgehog is a pretty little animal, but introverted. He is like us and our music. Whether you love us or hate us, we stay what we are.” Fast forward back to 2018, and Sound of Life Towards feels like the pinnacle of a recorded journey for a band who have always just wanted to be exactly themselves.
Hedgehog’s Sound of Life Toward is out now on Ruby Eyes Records. You can stream it to your heart’s content on Spotify, or buy the digital album on Bandcamp.