Little Scoop

By: Hunzer B.

Reviewed by: reviewer99

Hunzer B. Debut is Remarkably Sweet and Melancholy

Married Indie/Folk/Pop Duo Strike Gold with "Little Scoop"

Daniel Parker & Adrienne Krey, otherwise known as Hunzer B., have been striking the right chords with each other for more than six years. Now, for the first time, they let the world in on the love songs they've written for each other and the sweet and melancholy moods they artfully create in their home studio.

I heard Hunzer B. as the "Get Local" pick of the week on 94.7 KNRK here in Portland and I knew I had to check out the CD. I'm glad I did!!

The songs on Hunzer B.'s new CD "Little Scoop" offer a soft array of colorful and wispy poems centered around the common reality of a modern love and partnership. The songs are modern indie/folk/pop love songs. Simply structured but with a broad sonic palette that brings the music from the dulcimer and violin pizzicatos of “Green Love Still” and “Reservoir” to the Go-Go’s sounding drums, pop keyboards and guitars of “Anti-Valentine’s Song.”

The two express their love for one another in a multitude of gently sonic ways. One of the highlights of Side A is the sweet and honest “The Story My Love” in which the lyrics poetically saunter through the history of their relationship and promises for the future, while the textured guitar chords and ethereal keyboard sounds paint the backdrop.

Although the beauty of Hunzer B. is in their songwriting, the gentle use of Appalachian lap dulcimer, acoustic guitar, glockenspiel, pianos, keyboards, wine glasses (in “Can’t Go Wrong”), and hand percussion set the earnest, earthy tone that the two themselves seem to embody. The song “Secret Names,” described by Krey as “a global warming lullaby”, and possibly one of the world’s first, is sultry sweet and heart-felt

Krey’s soft whispering voice is reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins but with the clear, soft melancholy overtones of shoegazing legend Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star and the ever prolific Low . She sings with Parker on many of the songs, and their voices blend sweetly on the harmonies. While they don’t sound like they’re serenading each other, their voices are comfortable and relaxed and the resulting sound is unpretentiously honest.
Hunzer B. has also been justly compared to The Sundays, Red House Painters and Seattle’s Transmissionary Six.

Though lovers and the faint of heart everywhere will certainly love “Little Scoop”, there are certain to be a humbug nihilist or two that would take issue with the rosy outlook portrayed by these quirky, twittering love birds. To the hearts and minds of this class of tortured anti-romantics hunzer B. offers the second half of the record, in which a more melancholy mood prevails on atmospheric and reverberant songs like "The Last Night" and "Draining Pools."

Check out Hunzer B. in various online locations or at clubs and cafe's in Oregon, Washington and California.

Best Track(s)

Anti-Valentine's Song, The Story My Love, Reservoir, Can't Go Wrong.

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