Local Review: Henny — In Case of Fear

Henny
In Case of Fear
Self-Released
Street: 11.28.24
Henny = Heather Grey + Digable Planets x lojii

The only reason we make anything is for each other. When it comes to the balance of creation and destruction, we are mainly motivated by one another. When we write, it’s with an invisible audience. When we make art or music, we do it with the ones that we love in mind, whether or not we plan on sharing it with them. Although each piece will be distinctly designed with our personality and worldview, the people in our life deeply affect the outcome. The people we surround ourselves with have an effect on our humor, our belief systems and even our taste in music. Collaboration for this reason is paramount and at times, messy. It entails crossing over two entire worlds, which includes not only the lives of both creators, but of the people who have shaped each of them as well. That is why I believe Henny’s In Case of Fear is such an incredible feat of a self-released work. With a whopping seven features on a 10-track album, the artist has managed to bring these different artists from around the nation together to make an impressive and cohesive work of sound. 

Kaden Hendricks, who releases music under the name Henny, is a lo-fi hip-hop artist mixing right out of Salt Lake City. With an affinity for a well-placed sample of dialogue from an old sitcom or talk radio show, there is an element of effortless mastery in Henny’s sound. It sounds like he puts many hours into making music, yet it’s something that comes to him easily. This is proven true by his earlier music, which consists mainly of dreamy ambient soundscapes that are fine-tuned to fantasy. Meanwhile, In Case of Fear is more like a shot of Grey Goose you take before a first date to calm your nerves. It’s crystal clear, tastefully refined and makes you feel like you could be the funniest person in the room. With the addition of vocal features, it excites listeners like a room full of the funniest people you know. Thematically strong, the body of the album is organized with a beginning, middle and end between each feature. The intro, climax and outro are all solo pieces that break up the voices in the surrounding songs. With an album cover that looks like a crossover between a tarot card and a Shel Silverstein illustration, the entire project reads as an adventure.

The first track “PEACE PEACE (INTRO)” begins with a recording of joyful applause. The sound of cheering is a continuous motif that shows up again and again throughout the album. This is followed by “Joshua,” the first feature of the album being the Miami-based artist JUST JAY. The rich vocals performed by the wildly talented lyricist are a perfect match for the stripped-back, hypnotizing instrumentals. We hear applause again at the beginning of the fourth track, “Balance Beam,” featuring Kaylawn, a Fiji-based rapper. The lyrics describe the continuous battle of fighting to stay right side up and you can feel a steady back and forth in the pacing and melody. The fifth song, “Brown Blues,” featuring OLE MAN STOGIE, is a steady culmination of the album’s themes. The auditory environment is the biggest and brightest yet, it includes many different soundbites from songs previously, making for a sonic sticker collection. 

The center song, “Sit Still & Listen to the Whisper,” is the second solo made by Henny. Smooth as glass and lively as hell, the piece is made up of a jazz guitar riff and a sample of a man talking about jazz bars. Fittingly, the seventh song, “Arcterx,” features an artist called SEVENDI. As my official favorite on the LP, I am biased to say that this song is as cool as ice and as hot as the snowboarders adorning said brand. The standout line of the song is easily, “Use a puff coat to cook the hash.” This is followed by the slowed-down, reflective track “Rearview” featuring ODDBALL. There is a flute throughout the song, a sample of a Spanish song and some more applause. ODDBALL’s voice matches Henny’s style like cigarettes and coffee, and it tastes just as good, too. We are led out of the album with “Survival Kit,” the final solo piece that crosses over piano and radio tuning. As life gets more dystopian every day, preparing for an emergency feels like exercising a sore muscle. As long as we go through life, we will be scared, together and with a little tune in the back of our heads. —Marzia Thomas

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