Hakan-Hakan Manifesto

Andrea Carminati (Guitar, Vo.), Andrea Facheris (Bass, Vo.), Marco Facheris (Drums, Vo.)

Hakan, which is Turkish for Supreme Ruler/Great King/Emperor, reigns supreme on their fourth full-length. The band hails from tip-top Northern Italy and is from the vibrant and viable city of Bergamo to be exact. Bergamo is located just south of the Italian Alps and only 20 miles from the border of Switzerland. The trio could be characterized by their direct and straight-up-the-middle sound that immediately brings to mind Screeching Weasel and the Marked Men. There is also an European inflection to their English vocals that recalls the Richies, while the music evokes (power) trios like Hüsker Dü (Warner-era), Scared of Chaka, the Livermores, the Riverdales and the Lifeforms. 

Spanning the Globe

Perhaps influenced by their reemergence as globe-trotters, this album presents their lyrics going out beyond their previous insularity and towards a more stabilized and expansive worldview. They also exhibit a Romantic quality and somewhat hopeful outlook in their lyrics. In fact, I have not heard this approach of delivering remarkable melodies hinged upon a wall of jack-hammer guitars so successfully executed since the early years of the Smoking Popes.

Hakan Manifesto is their first album produced by Matt Bordin of the Mojomatics after two albums helmed by Jeff Burke of the Marked Men. The addition of Bordin has created a little more space around their mean & lean sound and has them stretching out in good ways. Thankfully, they have been able to retain a scruffy and scrappy edge that remains true to the sounds and ethos of the early Ramones and their own formative years.

Thrown for a Loop 

The opener “Hakan is a Dream” for some reason reminds me of major label Meat Puppets and “Backwater” in particular or even the general gruff vibe of New Jersey’s the Ribeye Brothers. Next, these bike punks ride the fine line between punk, power-pop and rock ‘n’ roll on sensational and streamlined numbers like “Just One Kiss” and “Number One.” When I was watching their “Just One Kiss” video, I noticed the featured bike cafe looked familiar and then I recall it was the “Bikefellas” cafe where Larry Livermore appeared and presented in 2019.

Bike 'n' Roll They are indeed into bicycling as they make clear in their ode “Bike Life.” When they intone: “I don’t care about your Ultegra/Cause it’s the leg yo,” they are referring to a bicycling “groupset” aka components made by Shimano, while also making a statement that it’s never about the equipment. Mentions of descending Maresana Hill (a huge hill north of their home city of Bergamo) before somehow reaching the comune (township) of Alzano Lombardo and maybe the frazione (subdivision) of Nese appears later in their travelogue. The stripped-down guitars continue to churn as striking numbers like “Turkish Delight Boy” (inspired by a trip to Istanbul) and “Ruined Day” recall Ben Weasel’s underrated Fidatevi album from 2002. On a related note, “Funny” contains the deadpanned realization, “Hakan on Lookout, it's not 94” as the music races ahead. 

Hakan III

The usual Aldi Weirdness

In “Good Night” they take a page out of Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World” book about studying philosophy and attending lectures on architecture in order to win one’s affection. Later, there is a mention of enduring the long queue at Aldi in the name of love. (Who knew a decade back that Aldi would now have such a presence in the U.S.A. due to the inflated inflation?)

It's An Uphill Climb To The Bottom

After 3 albums of somewhat scattershot lyrics, Hakan have reached a new echelon with their songwriting. Along with their long-standing passion for Turkish popular culture, they adeptly extract parts of their day-to-day quoitain experiences and throw them into the lyrical blender. They also continue their self-mythologizing by celebrating their own band with thematic songs, while pointing out local color and local characters. In “Hakan Manifesto” the particular line: “We are fans of Roby Pooh” had me discovering the famous Italian band Pooh and their keyboardist Roby Facchinetti (as they were not included on the 60’s Beat Italiano compilation). These boot-beat merchants have been going since 1966 and were actually named after Winnie-the-Pooh!

  Wahu!

The cadence and structure of “Stezzanism” reminds me of the Freezing Hands’ “Comeback Kid (Hits the Skids”), while the speedy vocals and unbridled energy of “I’m Burnt” spurred me to bring out the the Basement Brats discs on the shelf. The closing song, “Here With You” moves them in the Automatic direction of Jesus & Mary Chain.

Hakan Manifesto has them reaching new lyrical plateaus, while thankfully retaining their propulsive and captivating sound. Along with their inherent knack for seesawing melodies, they have intertwined their upgraded lyrics with an even more pronounced pop sensibility. All of these elements are combined to make this their most fully-realized album yet.