North Devon based Harry Bunker dropped his second solo release ‘HQ’ last month as the musician teases us with secret SoundCloud releases.
He’s creating a club for those in the know – a Harry Bunker cult right before our eyes. Already gigging the North Devon circuit with two locally infamous bands: GIVEWAY and Stellar Fox, Harry’s solo work was born from lockdown. This one-man show; bass, guitar, drums and vocals leaves you wondering…how the f**k did he do it all?
‘HQ’ is the best kind of self-indulgence, Harry is unashamedly cherry-picking all his favourite riffs to create this single. Molten Wah pedal oozes all over this track, ‘HQ’ is a nervous fury of stoner fuzz. A monotone wall inducing a constant sense of doom, threatening to boil over at any time – the track starts to inspire a strange sci-fi appeal. This dystopian tone is also set from the artwork – playing with themes of big brother and surveillance. The track is ominous, feeding into his secretive methods of release.
Bunker’s eagerness to dissociate and distort reinforces the experimental spirit of psychedelic rock, not just the sound. While clearly channeling John Dwyer, ‘HQ’ feels less beholden to influence compared to his initial release ‘Cursor’. We’re hearing a leaner, more propulsive version of Harry, quickly gaining confidence to release more tracks as a solo musician.
While not a professional electronic producer, he certainly thinks like one. This project is Bunker’s creative scream into a pillow, a blank canvas to simply experiment and push his producing and playing to places he’s always fantasised. Emphasising fluidity, there’s no boxed in verses or choruses, ‘HQ’ could quite literally go anywhere.
His drum rolls masterfully chopped into future samples, there’s an underlying hip-hop style of production. Written, performed and recorded all alone in his bedroom, it’s a surprisingly panoramic and slick listen – best enjoyed loud. Stacking channels like Jenga, ‘HQ’ is a tapestry of Harry’s deepest fears. An airing of musical qualms he’s previously lacked the environment to compose.
This refreshingly abrupt one-minute 31-second jam is one hell of a statement. Without saying too much or overcomplicating, he’s gone just as quickly as he appeared. Not even Harry knows where he’ll take us next.
Check out his latest tracks – solo and with grunge rockers GIVEWAY (Be part of the Harry Bunker cult) https://linktr.ee/harrybunker.
