Mark my words, one of the best albums that will grace our undeserving ears this year is near. How far away and what is it you might ask? Well, two months from now, April 22 to be specific. The upcoming album in question is Anthaupt from Soldat Hans and Everything Is Noise couldn’t be more ecstatic to premiere the lead single, “The Jubilant Howl”, from a to-be historic release. If this single is any indication of what is to come, then you can rest assured that this is going to be nothing short of breathtaking. It’d be best if you just went ahead and reserved a spot in the top 3 for Anthaupt on your 2022 albums of the year list right now.
I was completely oblivious to the existence of this Swiss group until very recently when a few members of our writing team were gushing about their last album out of the blue. I figured that it’d be a great opportunity to check Soldat Hans out as the EIN team never miss with those spicy recommendations and boy, was I absolutely smitten with what I heard. Upon listening to their 2018 release, Es taut, I felt so disappointed in myself for not hearing of them up until; I am sure many people are oblivious to their existence so if I can enlighten a few of you, I’ve done my job. Anyways, I can’t believe that I’ve been missing out on this for the past few years, yet I am lucky enough to be bewildered by the absolute magic that Es taut radiates all while in preparation for the new album that is to be released in less than two months time. There is no better time to become a Soldat Hans than right now. So what are you waiting for?
If you were living in not-so-blissful ignorance to the existence of Soldat Hans just as I was, then this is your time to make the change that will likely ruin music for you, in the best of ways of course. There honestly isn’t a concise manner to accurately describe the concoction of sounds that this group effortlessly creates. The way that I’d personally try to do so is by saying they are a ‘psychedelic everything’ band. Really, they do everything from dark/noir jazz, to post-rock/metal, to prog rock, to ambient, to slowcore and doom, all through a mind-bending psychedelic lens. Their music is one of those things that are best left unsaid for you to experience on your own.
“The Jubilant Howl” sounds as if it’s the love child of GY!BE and Kayo Dot, with the drawn out, sprawling song structures and elegant, airy textures akin that these two groups are highly regarded for; sprinkle in some Pink Floyd moodiness and you’re in for a wild trip. The atmospheric sections here especially remind me heavily of Kayo Dot‘s “Void in Virgo (The Nature of Sacrifice)”, and that was all I needed to hear in order to fall head over heels in love with the new single. As heard through their previous effort, Es taut, the inclusion of various brass instruments really contribute to the haunting gorgeous soundscapes that Soldat Hans masterfully create time and time again; “The Jubilant Howl” included, especially towards the latter third of this mammoth of a track. The music is equally disturbing as it is serene and liberating and words cannot describe how excited that makes me feel.
Honestly, I am sad that I wrote this premiere as it means that I had to listen to the single as opposed to waiting for the full album and experiencing it for the first time all at one. At least the rest of the album is still a mystery, so it isn’t like you will spoil yourself in any way by listening to this premiere here. Regardless, April cannot come soon enough, as the 22nd is when Anthaupt drops via Wolves and Vibrancy Records. Here are links to their website, Facebook, and Bandcamp pages, so you better do what is right in this world and give them a digital follow; they more than deserve it.
