HIJSS - HIJSS (Album Review)

Release Date: September 18th 2026. Record Label: Heavy Psych Sounds. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

HIJSS - Tracklist

1.Drain of Thoughts

2.Vicious Cycle

3.Parasite

4.Underwater

5.Dopamine

6.S.W.A.N.

7.Fatal Attraction

8.Outro

Members

Lois Lane - Guitar / Vocals / Electronics

Maurice - Drums

Pan - Bass / Synth

Review

Psych/Space Rock/KrautRock collective HIJSS return with their sophomore self-titled record and continue the great work the band achieved with their acclaimed 2024 debut album Stuck On Common Ground. This time round HIJSS conjured up a more surreal Electro Rock tinged offering compared to their last album. The Space Rock dynamics once again opens the door to other musical areas appearing such as Grunge, Shoegaze, Punk and Blues Rock with a band that are fully cooking on gas with a wild assortment of outrageous grooves and stunning Spaced Out melodies.

Lead vocalist Lois Lane definitely taps into his Post-Punk persona which takes small creative cues from the likes of Monster Magnet, TORCHE and FU MANCHU throughout the album. The sludgy sounds have an aggressive rhythm and boisterous warm-hearted nature to them which you can instantly feel through the stunning opening tracks of Drain Of Thought and Vicious Cycle. The sound is fast paced and wonderfully efficient especially when HIJSS play a faster style of Sludge/Stoner Rock that still has a grounded Punk Rock approach. The Psychedelic and Space Rock beats have a glorious level of infectious COSMIC surroundings that have some destructive lyrics appearing. 

The WEEDIAN themes arrive quite quickly and HIJSS lay that attitude brilliantly thick on the excellent second track Vicious Cycle which reminds me of Dave Wnydorf in his prime. Spiky lyrics which are merged with KrautRock and Post-Punk philosophies which run riot throughout the album. The screeching Electronic beats once again add a warped rhythm with overlapping instrumental passages that’s got some epic synths appearing along the way.

When the stunning and warped tracks Parasite and Underwater appear then HIJSS are simply unstoppable creating music that blends Science Fiction folklore and grounded sensibilities with the music once again being superbly effective whilst being quite hard to describe. There’s a small instance of Industrial beats appearing which allows that KRAUTROCK sound transforming into a gloomier style of Noise, Grunge and Stoner Metal with maximum levels of distorted volumes holding everything together.

Though, HIJSS apply instances of brilliantly played “semi-acoustic” passages which gives this record a gloomier energy with some of the freakiest and trippiest COSMIC grooves forming that leave you in such a cool hallucinogenic state. HIJSS have achieved and created such great things within the first half of the album you begin to wonder how they will top this?

I’m happy to report - Quite Easily!!! - As they keep going on performing and creating more outlandish and heavy distorted “COSMIC GRUNGE” songs that really show how HIJSS have their own original style of music whilst allowing the listener to be transported into their massive sounding world. Songs such as Dopemine and S.W.A.N. are the heaviest, loudest and weirdest songs on the record with the trippy synths and Post-Punk vocals adding a wave of intense movements which are refreshingly “HIP” with HIJSS having a completely FEARLESS attitude appearing within their music.

The final two tracks of Fatal Attraction of OUTRO once again blurs the boundaries between Time and Space with HIJSS applying heavy modern day themes for a mind expanding experience.  HIJSS are always continuing to re-invent themselves through every individual track which makes the album highly unpredictable.

HIJSS are absolute masters of their own Space Rock / Cosmic Grunge domain which leaves you in a complete trance for an album that is bold, hypnotic, mind blowing and brilliantly original within its own right. This is an essential record that everyone needs to fully experience and add to their record collections quickly as possible.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.

HIJSS self-titled album is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Heavy Psych Sounds.

Links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Exclusive Premiere Of Psych/Stoner/Space/Kraut-Rockers HIJSS New Song/Video for DOPAMINE From Upcoming Self Titled Album

From northern Italy's summits, through clouds and airplanes, a wall of sound spirals downhill as hijss marks it's birth. Stimulated by the musical instinct of the band's mastermind Lois Lane (guitar, vocals, electronics), Maurice's (drums) ferocious hits and Pan’s (bass & synth) catchy scales the music does not only scratch the surface but goes deep under your skin. The band puts genres in the background zapping from punk over wave to space and psychedelic rock. The outcome is a melting pot called: kosmo kraut. That means whatever you want it to mean...

Thanks to the amazing folks over at Purple Sage PR and Heavy Psych Sounds we're excited to premiere the new song/video for DOPAMINE from the upcoming new self-titled album due for release on September 18th 2026.

New album "hijss" - Out September 18th on Heavy Psych Sounds

HIJSS links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Youtube

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.

Kosmo Kraut Trio HIJSS shares new "s.w.a.n." video; new album "hijss" out September 18th on Heavy Psych Sounds!

Genre-splicing northern Italian power trio hijss teams up with The Sleeping Shaman to present their new video "s.w.a.n", taken from their forthcoming sophomore album "hijss" landing this September 18th on Heavy Psych Sounds.

Watch new video "s.w.a.n." at this location or below

"A high-octane collision of fuzzy grunge riffs, motorik rhythms, post-punk grit, and dizzying space-rock atmosphere." — The Sleeping Shaman

From Northern Italy summits through clouds and airplanes comes hijss. Stimulated by the musical instinct of band leader Lois Lane (guitar & vocals), drummer Maurice's ferocious hits and bassist and keyboardist Pan’s catchy scales, their fearless sonic explorations does not only scratch the surface but goes deep under your skin.

Drawing from grunge rock and post-punk as much as modern space rock, this boundary-free unit propels itself into the stratosphere in a giant blaze of crunch and groove. hijss hit with a fierce punk attitude, seamlessly combining their gritty riffs, pulsating basslines and kraut-infused madness with frontman Lois Lane's Wyndorf-esque croon. The outcome is their own melting pot called "kosmo kraut". Watch their latest video for vicious cycle!

New album "hijss" - Out September 18th on Heavy Psych Sounds

All three band members come from a wide musical background, yet their common denominator is without a doubt their punk attitude. hijss puts genres in the background zapping from punk over blues to space and psychedelic rock. The outcome is a melting pot called "cosmic grunge". That means whatever you want it to mean. Their debut album "stuck on common ground" was released in the spring of 2024 through Heavy Psych Sounds.

HIJSS links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Youtube

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.

Psych/Grunge/Stoner Rockers HIJSS Premiere New Song/Video BLOW OUT From Upcoming New Album

Grunge/Psych/Stoner/Blues Rock collective HIJSS release their wildly entertaining and outrageously heavy new album Stuck On Common Ground via Heavy Psych Sounds on Friday March 8th 2024.

With a mixture of heavy blues influenced riffs and synthesized Krautrock parts HIJSS tries to create a high dynamic range that will keep your attention at all time.

On top of gritty bass lines and ferocious drums lie cosmic guitars, tantalizing vocals and arpeggiated electronic drones.

All three band members come from a vast musical background. Their common denominator is with out a doubt a punkish attitude.

To get you in the mood for the new album we're excited to premiere their superb new track and video for BLOW OUT from the forthcoming new album Stuck On Common Ground. 

HIJSS state this about the track: 

"Blow Out has a raw grunge attitude, captivating listeners with its hypnotic verse and juicy chorus. High-gain bridges fill the gap. Its dynamic shifts will keep you engaged from start to finish.”

HIJSS Members

Lois Lane - GUITAR / VOCALS
Maurice - DRUMS
Pan - BASS / SYNTH

Links

Bandcamp - Facebook

Stuck On Common Ground will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Heavy Psych Sounds from Friday March 08th 2024. 

Thanks to Purple Sage PR and Heavy Psych Sounds for all of the details. 

HIJSS - Stuck On Common Ground (Album Review)

Release Date: 08th March 2024. Record Label: Heavy Psych Sounds. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Stuck On Common Ground - Tracklisting

1.Ingraved

2.1234 me 

3.Headless Blues

4.Interlude #1

5.Train Tracks

6.Narcolepsy

7.Black Disease

8.Interlude #2

9.Blow Out

10.Tilt Mode

Members

Lois Lane - GUITAR / VOCALS

Maurice - DRUMS

Pan - BASS / SYNTH

Review

Stuck On Common Ground is the debut album from Psychedelic Stoner Rockers HIJSS who also focus upon bringing elements of Grunge, Noise Rock, Blues Rock and a healthy dose of Punk Rock swagger to the album. The sound is quite volatile with a catchy and aggressive 1990’s subtle Alternative flavour with HIJSS operating with a stripped back melody to their music whilst allowing a rip-roaring Sludge Rock attitude appearing within the lyrics, vocals and the heavy guitars when everything becomes more aggressive.

The opening tracks of Ingraved and 1234me allows HIJSS the perfect opportunity to play a stylish version of Grunge and Psychedelic Stoner Rock with moments of Electronic charged rhythms which soon transforms into a heavy Krautrock movement which allows the Noise Rock atmosphere to be brimming with Punk Rock attitude. There’s a level of sonic based distortion which allows HIJSS to play some original music of their own even within the early stages of the album.

Third track Headless Blues weaves Blues Rock dominance with an almost experimental Punk Rock dynamics with levels of Psychedelic and Cosmic energy which adds another thrilling aspect to their music that remains quite upbeat with that rebellious nature the vocals and lyrics are delivered within this track alone. 

Fourth track Interlude#1 is a Electronic and Psychedelic instrumental track which can be quite eccentric in places but hazy Blues Rock energy just works within the Post-Rock flow of the whole track. It’s quite a creative departure from the previous tracks but allows HIJSS to gear up for the next round of Psychedelic craziness the album has in store for the listener.

The following songs of Train Tracks, Narcolepsy and Black Disease sees HIJSS take a darker approach with the album. As the music becomes quite seedy with that wicked Punk Rock and Stoner Rock vibe that soon transforms into Electronic noises, beats, sounds and Freakly glitches which shouldn’t really work within the Stoner Rock movement but HIJSS pull this off with great style. The band still moves further into the classic style of Desert/Stoner Rock especially within Narcolepsy with Lois Lane’s vocals being quite surreal and reaching to high levels of volume.

After the wicked instrumental track Interlude #2 sees HIJSS return to the destructive best with the final two tracks Blow Out and Tilt Mode being the most riff driven and anthemic parts of the album especially on Blow Out. There’s a darker sensibility appearing within the lyrics despite some of the more uplifting instrumental moments being played on these tracks. 

Heavy Psych Sounds are releasing this album and you all know what to expect from one of the best labels within the Stoner Rock/Metal scene and that’s why Stuck On Common Ground doesn’t disappoint within the production quality department. 

Stuck On Common Ground is a breath of fresh air with it’s catchy, aggressive and experimental grooves which still remains a first rate Stoner Rock album from start to finish. The production values are superbly realised and perhaps considered to be more Punk Rock based especially with the stripped back atmospherics which allows HIJSS to explore multiple different genres and remain superbly original from start to finish.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.

Stuck On Common Ground will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Heavy Psych Sounds from Friday March 08th 2024. 

Links

Bandcamp - Facebook

Punk/Stoner Rockers HIJSS Premiere New Song/Video For 1234me From Upcoming New Album Stuck On Common Ground

Italian Punk/Stoner Rockers HIJSS release a new song/video for 1234me from their forthcoming new album Stuck On Common Ground which will be released via Heavy Psych Sounds on CD/DD/Vinyl from March 08th 2024.

HIJSS say this about 1234me: 

"1234 me starts you off with smashing drums and a synthesized bass line and soon to be replaced with a warm and gritty bass guitar but without losing its drive. The track is topped off with cosmic guitars and snappy lyrics ready for your interpretation.”

About The Band

From northern Italy's summits through clouds and airplanes a wall of sound spirals downhill as HIJSS mark their birth. Stimulated by the musical instinct of band leader Lois Lane (guitar & vocals) Maurice's (drums) ferocious hits and Pan’s (bass & synth) catchy scales, their blend of gritty heavy rock, cosmic riffing and kraut-infused madness does not only scratch the surface but goes deep under your skin. The band puts genres in the background zapping from punk over blues to space and psychedelic rock. The outcome is a melting pot called cosmic grunge. That means whatever you want it to mean…

Links

Facebook

Bandcamp

You can pre-order Stuck On Common Ground via Heavy Psych Sounds

ALBUM PRESALE: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/ 

USA PRESALE: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop-usa.html

Thanks to Claire at Purple Sage PR for all of the details.