…Huh is a facetious title that emblematises the current mission statement of Really Big Really Clever. No matter the Brighton group’s existential heart (new single Back Door reflects on vulnerability at a point in which you should be on top of the world; a drink spiked on a night out), philosophy is drowned out by the honesty of a good guitar riff.
The narratives of Huh are clever, but its riffs are big. Back Door itself provides a nimble lead line that soars during instrumental breaks, recurring like a toy that plays an impromptu guitar solo when a coin is placed into its slot. The precision of its notes is akin to the careful craftsmanship of a Folsom Prison Blues; a great song that might feel empty without its guitar signature. This practice reoccurs in the solo section of I Will.
On the contrary, Floss is Boss does its talking with an old-fashioned punk chord combo – that old: replace a riff with a series of quickfire power chords. Doesn’t Work is like a mix of Back Door and Floss is Boss; power chords initially, then a trebled riff guides subsequent sections of the composition, third-hand from Buzzcocks and The Strokes. Even with a disciple’s approach to riff-making, the results of Huh are still original.
There is little quite as original as the crazy dissonance of I Was an Idiot, which can’t stop ascending before transitioning into some of Jared Tomkins and Jordan Lilford’s most cunning interplay. Unique to the album, a warming, glowing waltz, paddling in chorus, morphs into Swans-esque noise on Back and Forth.
The best of the bunch – the sweetest, at least – is the riff of The Middle, which speaks to the normalising of uncertainty, making peace with the unexpected. Distortion is downplayed, major sevenths are visited nostalgically, and calamity is ushered but not previewed.
Even the album’s short-lasting intro – literally entitled Intro – boasts its own riffy personality; a springy tremolo that snaps, kicking the album into gear with a hasty roar. Like the world’s shortest overture, it paves the way for the wrestling theme riffs of Karma, and Dread’s palm-muted crunch-crunch, succeeded by arm-flailing adventuring.
These are riffs that stick, the prime indicator of Huh’s brilliance. Really Big Really Clever could declare world peace, but they’d still end up being remembered for the excitement and originality of their guitar work.