HOPIOKI - You won't regret any headphone hours spent here - Harry Guerin - RTE Entertainment Review

In an ever more hectic age of here - this - morning - gone - lunchtime bands and records, it's good to see that some people still don't buy into rush-rush being the only way. Almost four years after Carlow's 79Cortinaz brought out their excellent single 'Deirdre's Song', they've released their debut album.  Taking things slow has done much for the quartet: while the charms of 'Deirdre's Song' shine as bright as ever, there are even better songs here.  

'Drive Me Home', 'She's Awake' and 'Nowhere to Go' show how good main songwriters Gala Hutton and Cormac Strain are at melancholy and closer 'Snowsmoke Serenade' their prowess at dreamy, cinematic ballads. There are plenty of upbeat tracks too, and the production from Damned drummer Rat Scabies captures a back room ambience without ever sounding cheap.

HOPIOKI - Good Things Come To Those Who Wait - Edwin McFee, Hotpress Magazine

A little under four years ago, Carlow based quartet 79Cortinaz charmed the under-crackers off Irish music fans with their frenetic yet strangly funky single ’Deirdre’s Song’. It gamely sailed up the charts, peaking at number 18, whetting our appetites for more. It might have taken them a while to release a debut album, but it was worth the wait.
Hopioki first and foremost is a fun record and features 11 tracks of finely crafted, guitar oriented songs. There’s a little Brian Wilson, Thrills, Arcade Fire and even some Primal Scream thrown in there, and every song sounds positively lush. The best track is ’She’s Awake’, which has a gorgeous, lilting guitar refrain and has the potential to be an anthem at the summer festivals this year. A close runner up is the beautifully heart-broken ’Electric Hymn’ which showcases some stunning backing vocals from Annie Strain and is definately a song to fall in love with.
On the whole, Hopioki is a better than solid affair, with only one throwaway ’Raspberry Bon Bons’ leaving a sour taste. But that’s a minor gripe to make about an album that’s achingly accomplished and, for the most part, exudes pure class.