He Is Legend‘s first album was a dirty, filthy monster of a record. The follow-up was pretty crap. This new record falls somewhere in between. ‘It Hates You’ represents quite a coup for LAB Records and it’s to their credit they’ve attracted a band of HIL’s stature and for having the balls to take on this project. I hope they benefit from the exposure working with a bigger band will give them. But it’s not the label’s best release and while solid, I’m not sure if it stands out, ironically, as some of their homegrown bands do.
Anyway, at 12 tracks and 60 minutes long this is a lengthy beast. It has that dirty, midwest rock and roll feel although not quite as dirty or beasty as that marvelous first record. Schuylar Croom has some really distinctive vocals and they’re once again the band’s USP – but the songs aren’t quite good enough at times anyway, to live up to the expectations his voice sets. ‘The Primarily Blues’ and ‘Decisions, Decisions, Decision’ are highlights with some OTT guitar work. On the flip side songs like ‘Mean Shadows’ are too long and outstay their welcome, while ‘China White III’ comes across as the token acoustic, bluesy ditty and is a little out of place.
Still, this is an improvement and worth a listen if you like dirty, southern rock. It’s not as good as the first album but still worthy of your time.