6:00PM. Kristóf Hajós

This is the second of three albums released last week, that all are too good to ignore but of which two would have missed out if I had stuck to three new albums a week. So all three get a shorter review today.

Every once in a while a cd is dropped into my letter box from the Tiny Room Records family. Kristóf Hajós is one of its members. On his latest album he presents mid-tempo and atmospheric songs that are part organic and part electronics. This can be produced as much by electronic rhythm boxes as swaths of sounds from synths or background electronics. His 2023 album 'Geography' was somewhat less direct compared to 6:00PM, that presents several songs that have a straight rhythm and move directly from a to b. The album's opening song, 'Goodbye Boedapest' is the showcase for this conclusion.

What is also clear, is the stamp Stefan Breuer put on the album. While just listening without having read any of the information, I could pick out his way of composing and singing. This brings a few of the songs close to Breuer's own project The World of Dust. Another reference here in NL is I Am Oak.

As you may have gathered from these comments, 6:00PM contains several delicate songs, where everything is clearly audible but as if coming through the fog from up close or further away. It's impossible to see. At the same time I want to keep listening. The title song is one of the more direct ones. It has clear 1980s influences from bands like China Crisis and other soft but synth driven acts from the day. The mix makes 6:00PM a very interesting album to listen to. Kristóf Hajós' voice is leading the way. Sometimes a little uncertain, sometimes as if in dreams, but always going forward, if delicate.

He is all but a household name and will most likely not become one but that should not deter you from listening to 6:00PM. It is an album to cherish.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order 6:00PM here:

https://kristofhajos.bandcamp.com/album/6-00pm