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Hiperson are a five-piece indie rock band from Chengdu, China.

I first discovered Hiperson through their single Strawberries (2019), also released as the first track of their Four Seasons EP. I don’t recall exactly where I found this song, but my Spotify playlist shows that it must have been in March 2023.

When I first heard Strawberries, it was the freshest music I had heard in a long time. It opens with a simple, crisp bassline. In the background, faint analogue crackling can be heard. After the first two verses, sung in almost angelic tones, an analogue synth breaks in and the song opens up into a catchy pop-rock hit. The song had me hooked immediately— I listened to it on repeat for days. It is one of those rare songs for me that really works well on repeat.

Shortly after, I started exploring their LP releases Bildungsroman (2020) and No Need For Another History (2015), both of which I listened to extensively. Today, however, I would like to highlight their second studio album She Came Back From The Square (original title: 她从广场回来), released in 2018. Somehow I completely missed that this release existed between the aforementioned two releases and only listened to it for the first time this year.

She Came Back From The Square is a much more emotionally raw album than its older and younger siblings. The instrumentals are more experimental and expressionist, giving the album a more avant-garde feel. I love to listen to this album when I feel emotionally drained or frustrated, its rawness complementing my feelings completely.

Where No Need For Another History feels more punk rock, and Bildungsroman toes the line between folk and rock, this in-between album occupies its own space completely. And that’s what Hiperson seems to do best: explore genres and apply their own unique vision to them.

Favorite tracks

• The History (track 5): A conversation between French and Chinese narrators, alternated by some very expressionist guitar playing. The spoken-word style may have been an inspiration for the later Bildungsroman album.
• Hole (track 7): A very avant-garde interlude.
• Football Game (track 8): I absolutely love the ending of this song, where the band just starts shrieking, like they’re throwing snowballs or spraying water guns at each other.

It’s been nearly six years now since Bildungsroman was released. I really hope the band is working on something new. In the meantime, I’ll be passing through Chengdu for a few days on a trip later this year, so I’m hoping to pick up some of their music on vinyl if I can find it!

Check out Bandwagon.asia’s article if you want to learn more about the band.

Happy listening,

Max

Hiperson - 她从广场回来 (She Came Back From the Square) (2018) cover art