Hunters' Izzy Almeida and Derek Watson formed their band in part because they both loved grunge and proto-punk acts like
Sonic Youth and
the Stooges, and those influences ring out loud and clear (or should that be heavy and murky?) on their self-titled debut. While Watson's vocals often have a
Kurt Cobain-like bray to them -- particularly on "Street Trash," where he and Almeida prove it's possible to shout in harmony --
Hunters don't ape
Nirvana so much as
Cobain's record collection: hints of
the Melvins' sludge collide with singsongy boy-girl vocals reminiscent of
the Vaselines. The band fares best on songs like "Narcissist," which, like
the Vines' grunge love letters, are pretty fun even if they aren't shockingly original. "She's So" and "Thin Twin" reveal
Hunters' surprisingly sharp pop instincts, while "Nosebleed"'s ebb and flow borrow some of
Sonic Youth's expansiveness in a way the band makes its own. ~ Heather Phares