Album Review: Hello Mexico - Five Twenty Seven

With many progressive bands emerging within the last number of years, popularity within the genre has grown rapidly. Choosing not to release a full length album, London based Hello Mexico have set themselves aside and put forward a second, three-track, EP for release.

‘Five Twenty Seven’ is opened by its title song; beginning with a melodic guitar intro, the song has a distinct feel of maturity and class, with fitting vocals coming from multi-instrumentalists Gulli Gunnarsson and John Martinelli. Every aspect of the song, and the entire EP itself for that matter, gels together perfectly; even with the introduction of heavier guitar parts and pounding drums, the song maintains its elegance and each respective part drives the song forward to a fantastic climax.

‘What If I Were Smiling’ and ‘The Shape of These Years’ both follow the same formula however adopt two distinctly separate sounds. Whilst the former appears to be formed of a more traditional compositional structure and clearly has the commercial edge to it, the song maintains the general pace and feel of the EP.

The use of various guitar effects and poignant piano segments compliment the heartfelt, introspective lyrics of ‘The Shape of These Years’. It is of similar vein to the opening track, however the band seem to add a little more creative intensity to their sound. This song has clearly been made for audience participation and would have anyone chanting along; it’s the closing statement the EP not necessarily needed, but deserved.

With the right mix of exquisite progressive melodies, razor sharp vocals and a real edgy appeal, Hello Mexico are developing into a truly great band. ‘Five Twenty Seven’ is a perfect showcase of the bands passion and ability and it really has defined a sound for 2010.

4/5

‘Five Twenty Seven’ by Hello Mexico is available now through Enterprise Music.

Hello Mexico on MySpace, Twitter and Facebook.

Sandeep Dawett