One of the forerunners of the ‘Iranian rock movement,’ it feels good to say that Hypernova is deserving of their coverage, not just because of their struggle in getting the eff out of Iran after President Ahmadinejad banned all Western music in the country, but because they are four superbly talented guys.
Hypernova sound a lot like Franz Ferdinand, Joy Division, or a less synthesizer-y Depeche Mode. The record’s title, Through Chaos, could be a political statement, but this is not an activist record. If it is, the band, in a testament to their considerable talent, mask it beautifully allowing the listener to simple enjoy the music and not feel like they’re listening to CNN – the musical.
There will be a letdown to those who are looking for an ‘Iranian rock’ experience. If you just listen to the record and ignore the press around it, there is nothing to indicate that the band is not from the West. They do not sing in Persian at all, they sing in English, and they do not use any Eastern scales or traditional Iranian instruments; just regular old guitar, bass, drums and some tasteful keyboards on a few tracks.
Hopefully in the future they will explore the sounds of their native land but it’s not unfeasible to think that their highly polished Western sound was fashioned in rebellion to being inundated with traditional Iranian music; it’s not exotic to them after all.
In A Word: Refined
