‘The Trick Is Not Minding’ is the long awaited debut album from Orlando’s Henrietta, released this August on Animal Style Records. After six years in the making the quartet deliver an album stacked full of inventive and melodic emo-rock mixed with powerful and moving vocals, and quite frankly it’s excellent.
The subtle and atmospheric opening to ‘Give Up Kid’ really sets the tone here. You’ve got layered guitars and a rising beat forming this really expansive and adventurous sound. You’ve then got ‘2000 Miles’, which is similar in nature, and it makes for such an impressive opening combo. Both tracks are carefully steered away from being over complicated or pretentious though and that’s where Henrietta are so impressive. They add depth without losing your attention.
‘Constantinople’ is perhaps the first time the vocals take centre stage in the mix and they’re full of character without overshadowing the music behind them. There are heavy hints to latter-day Biffy Clyro there too, despite the thousands of miles between origins. You hear this again during the low-key opening to ‘Brutus’, backed up by references to storms and seas in the lyrics. The track itself is a slow burner, adding yet more atmosphere and reflection to the album. It’s effectively a voice led interlude between the front and back of the album.
Fortunately there’s no obvious change in the approach and ‘Leave It Alone’ is every bit as warming and as driven as earlier tracks. ‘Vacation’ is then one of the bands more direct tracks; with it’s focused drum beat and really euphoric outro. The band takes you on a journey across this album and it ends spectacularly with ‘Orion’. It’s the longest track and plays out with a haunting and dramatic tone.
Henrietta are a really understated band, and whilst ‘The Trick is Not Minding’ will be a slow burner for many it is definitely an album of the year contender.
TOM BECK