Iranian band Hypernova celebrates release of debut album and film with three shows in their new hometown, New York City
Saturday, April 10, Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston St. between Ludlow & Essex Sts., $10, 7:30
Friday, April 16, 92YTribeca, 200 Hudson St. at Canal St., $10, 9:30
Saturday, May 1, Studio at Webster Hall,125 East Eleventh St. between Second & Third Aves., ,8:00
www.myspace.com/hypernovamusic
www.mercuryloungenyc.com
www.92y.org
www.websterhall.com
Iranian indie band Hypernova might have first made news because it took a letter from Sen. Charles Schumer to get the group visas for their 2008-2009 tour of the United States, but what’s more important is that their music is just so damn good. Fans of Interpol, Depeche Mode, Joy Division, and Arctic Monkeys (and just about anyone else) should have a field day listening to their just-released debut album, THROUGH THE CHAOS (Narnack, April 2010), which is filled with killer hooks that will rattle your brains and shake your bones. “This world is not for the faint of heart,” deep-voiced Raam sings on the bonus track “Somewhere Far Away,” and neither is THROUGH THE CHAOS (which is currently streaming for free here). Pop music is banned in Iran, so lead vocalist/guitarist Raam, bassist Jam, guitarist Kodi, and drummer Kami, who are now based in New York City, risked their freedom to spread their music, so when they declare on “Viva La Resistance,” “So dance like you’ve never danced / and scream like you’ve never screamed / ’cause this one might be your last,” they really mean it. (On the same song, they also display their fierce determination by proclaiming, “Your theocratic neo-Fascist ideology / is only getting in the way of my biology / Your book says no! / But my body wants more!”) From the propulsive “Universal” and “Monster in Me” to the slower “Empty Times” and “Here and Now” (the latter featuring a sweet guitar outro), Hypernova lives and breathes their music, sharing their fairytale story, although their prospects are brighter than depicted in “Fairytales That Don’t Have Happy Endings.”
Hypernova will be at Mercury Lounge on April 10 and at the Studio at Webster Hall on May 1, but we’re most excited about their appearance at 92YTribeca on April 16, participating in the official after-party celebrating the release of Bahman Ghobadi’s NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT PERSIAN CATS, a compelling fictional account of the underground indie music scene in Tehran. (Look for our review next week.) Also on the bill are the Yellow Dogs, who appear in the film, along with DJ Loveletters.