Het : "Let's Het" (1984)

"Let's Het" is ingenious.

That being said, this album is not for everyone. If you do not have an ear for atonality or complex harmonics, you will hate it. If you can't handle multiple percussion lines in time signatures other than 4/4, you will hate it. Basically if you're against "intellectual music" (i.e. 20th century composers) this record probably can't offer you much.

However...

If you are into the experimental offshoots of punk...
If carefully calculated music (like math rock or something) appeals to you...
If you are drawn to loudness and spectacle...
If the name "Harry Partch" rings a bell...
(If you have an open mind...)

...then you may be in for a treat.

Het was formed in the early 80's by two members of Furious Pig, a crazed outfit from the London underground that in the late 70's chose to abandon their instruments and pursue a more "natural" style of music generation.

Furious Pig was basically a super-agressive a capella punk band.

"Let's Het" was recorded after two more musicians (including Tim Hodgkinson of Henry Cow) joined forces with the two dissenting Piggies. Het was essentially a "supergroup" of the European avant-garde.

I can't really describe these songs in words.

The Album

1 - Throw Out That Rag

2 - Music for the Hanging of a Minister

3 - Rain

4 - Penis (mp3)

5 - Poisons

6 - The Unmoved Mover

7 - Ha Stop


Overall Rating:

WAH / 10

man from now on whenever i introduce someone to a band i am going to refer to it as 'intellectual music' just so they feel uncomfortable and stupid if they don't like it

it always takes me awhile to really get into percussion-heavy/based bands (HEALTH being probably the best example), but then when i do i think WHY DIDNT I LIKE THIS EARLIER

sweet find bb, and het is a really good band name

I gotta say, I have no inclination to listen to this, but your "descriptions" of the songs are nothing short of amazing.

I listened to Penis and while I enjoyed it, it didn't grab my attention and keep it. It felt more like tribal background music, yeah?

Yeah it took me about 2-3 album listens before I felt I could really enjoy the music. "Penis" is probably the most straightforward track too.

That kind of gets back to the point about this kind of stuff being too "intellectual" (which != "intelligent"; sorry if I came off as a bit snobbish at first Glen ). Het and the rest of the Rock in Opposition bands were constantly being criticized for twisting the spirit of the punk movement by thinking too much about their music and its technicalities- all the experimentation and theorizing stripped the art of its personal essence.

To be sure, this album definitely doesn't have the raw fuck-yall energy of something like Afflicted Man or other garagey early 80's British bands. But at the same time the fact that Het doesn't pretend to be spontaneous or visceral gives it the chance to do something complex without being pretentious.

I guess that's why I like "Let's Het", but then I have my own musical sensibilities. I can just as easily see why someone would hate it.