I was the lucky person that got the honor of putting these guys on stage in 1995 over here in Belgium. Not a lot of people showed up, but even now, half a decade later, that wouldn't be a big surprise for many of you. Well, maybe you came across them on one of the many compilations they appear on or the split they did with Face To Face. They even did a 7" for Fat Wreck Chords once. If they follow the path they are heading with this new release however, it'll be just a matter of time to get them where they belong: with the big names. This album was already recorded at Sonic Iguana Studios during Sept 1998 - April 1999, and wasn't released through Onefoot Records as intended, but ended up with Jump Off records who released the thing in June 2000. Some of you might have heard Chris Bauermeister (ex-Jawbreaker bassist) joined the band, but this was only after they recorded this one. Meanwhile a CDEP Copper Regret has been released by Coldfront Records that does feature the new member, but I didn't have the chance to pick that one up. Since 1998 Matt Arluck joined HP, so he did guitar on this one. Well then, what's it like you say? I think it's a masterpiece. Scott Eastman's vocals are so much more harmonic and strong as on Power Tools. The biggest difference though surely is that there's now 2 guitars instead of just one and it makes the sound so much thicker. On top of that the songs are much more refined and the production is really superior to their early stuff. HP doesn't write according to the "unisong"-theory as they say themselves: some songs are poppy (Second Best), some are emo-like (Motor One) and a couple are hardcore in some way (Doorway). So this CD never bores. Lyrics are written thoughtfully, no big issues here, mostly about personal feelings I guess. I swear, this is a band to look out for in months and years to come. This album just deserves your attention. Take my word.