HUMAANA – Comfort

Reviewing material such as this fine EP from Boston indie rock outfit Humaana always brings me joy. I really wish I could pinpoint the sound of this genre, but simply put, the music on Comfort does just that: it brings comfort. For a little background on the band, Humaana is an offshoot of the defunct group Late Nite Wars, featuring their bass player Aaron Bernard and drummer Tim Manning. Along with Manning and Bernard, Humaana features Ryan Stack on vocals and Jordan Ignacio on keys and backing vocals.

The music featured here brings a mix of repetitive guitar riffs, electronic tweaks, and the catchy, poppy vocals of Stack.  The sound is very similar to other bands that have championed the indie-electronic sound such as Minus The Bear, Facing New York, and Portugal. The Man. The opening track entitled “Passing Parade” draws you in with the spacy guitar cuts and the catchy vocals and leads right into “Live Like The Sixties” — full of  a hard and harsh bass guitar-driven beat. “Winter at Faneuil” closes out the EP with a stripped-down and slowed-down mellow track featuring acoustic guitar and Stack on vocals. It’s a real nice, and dare I say, comforting way to end the album. If you’re a fan of the indie-electro rock genre like I am, you will be impressed by this effort.

(Panic Records, no address provided)