HYPOLUXO

HYPOLUXO

If Language

“Sam Cogen and I met while we both lived on Hypoluxo Road,” says Marco Ocampo. “When we moved to New York we were going by a different moniker but there were like three other bands with the same name so we decided on Hypoluxo to always try and keep the Florida feels coming. John Archuleta lived in West Palm, but he was always around the area. Eric Jaso is from Los Angeles.” This Brooklyn-based quartet has entered the foray of serious indie rock with a fully realized LP, If Language that they’re supporting this fall. With a lo-fi, post-punk, shoegaze vibe that is firmly rooted in rock but open to pop experimentation, Hypoluxo is an improved standout in what has become a stagnant and homogenized New York scene.

That could be due to a mix of doom and cynicism existing in parallel to slightly more upbeat situations throughout their recorded canon. “I think the main thing we tried to do for this record is tell a story,” explains Cogen of the record. “It’s really just about being a kid. Growing up dealing with a ton of stuff that in the end really is not a big deal but at the time is everything. For most of our previous recordings we just wrote a song and it worked. It really ended up being a very cohesive album and a strong story of facing typical problems we all have growing up.” Cogen’s delivery, reserved with intent, gives the tracks an almost sprechgesang authority without becoming overblown.

Going on a little over three years as a band, Hypoluxo sounds mature beyond that. Cogen and Ocampo have been jamming together since their high school days and their creative process is incorporative of the whole, with loose ideas germinating over the good old-fashioned, barrier-free cocoon of the rehearsal space. That they take their time in crafting their product and tinkering enough to make it the best they possibly can is what has set them apart at home—and both the press and their growing fan base have taken note.

“We want to make songs that have an immediate reaction to people and not just ourselves,” says Cogen. “We want to make people want to have fun. We love the gloomy vibe we have been doing for a while which will never leave, but I want to experiment with different stuff. Especially in a live setting.” South Florida fans will have a chance to see Hypoluxo do it like that with a one-two punch of performances in West Palm at Respectable Street and Miami at Gramps. That’s a relatively short commute with a delicious sonic payoff if you think about it.

Hypoluxo Thursday, October 20 at 11 pm for Respectable’s Flaunt party and with Heavy Drag, Chaucer, and Lindsey Mills at 8pm on Friday, October 21 at Gramps, hypoluxomusic.bandcamp.com.
~ Abel Folgar