From Los Angeles, Hasco Enjoyments with their Wow! (ROPE WORM RW04) album released on a Polish label. These eight pieces might be mostly the work of player John-Peter Hasson (bass, guitars, keyboards), but he is ably supported by guests Bar McKinnon, David Pajo, Nick Reinhart, and others – including musicians with playful names such as Trey Magnifique (saxophone) and Lord Phobos (pedal steel guitar).
The track titles indicate a preoccupation with harmless pass-times mostly drawn from 1950s American culture, such as baseball, hot dogs, tacos, and an ‘Executive Bonus’ which might refer obliquely to an increase in the pay packet of a wealthy button-down suburbanite. Even the institution of the family is not immune from the quirky daydreams of Hasco Enjoyments, as suggested by the intriguing title ‘Sometimes My Dad is an Eagle’, which would probably be a very charged phrase in the mouth of a proud 12 year-old lad performing in a Little League game. The music baffles me, though. The group claim to be shooting for an “ambient-easy listening” vibe with their playing, but that clue might be one more ironic layer intended to throw us off the scent. Each instrumental is a carefully-sculpted confection of pleasantness, with colourful chord changes, tasteful arrangements, and every element placed just so in the mix.
I think after a few more listens we might begin to spot the very brief moments of freakery when the synth player goes slightly nuts, which is about the only time we can savour an experimental nugget in these buckets of candy-coated popcorn. On the other hand, it’s not especially vivacious music either; most of these Wow! tracks are sluggish and dreamy, almost introspective, and don’t quite align with the colourful motifs (like pop versions of images from an old 17th century emblem book) which innocently decorate the front cover. For a time, the band offered a limited vinyl edition of this item with colour prints (now sold out). (09/01/2025)