“ALOHA INOHA” is an indie rock album released on May 3, 2024– the debut album for the band INOHA. It is their first and only full album release.
Although INOHA began to release music back in 2023 with a collection of singles and EPs and continues to make music to this day, I personally discovered INOHA due to my interest in more well-known indie rock bands such as Lovejoy and Good Kid. When I learned that they would be the opening act for a Good Kid concert that I will be seeing in April, I couldn’t help but immediately become interested in them.
I figured the best way to prepare was to listen to their debut album, “ALOHA INOHA,” and see if their music would get me even more excited for the concert than I already was.
INOHA’s debut album comes with a total of nine songs: “The Tide,” “Naomi,” “Seventh Heaven,” “GESHUOU,” “Saturday Nights,” “Papaya Man,” “Biggest Salmon,” “A Next Time” and “Trips.” I’ll be reviewing them in this order, as it is the current order on their album.
The first song, “The Tide” almost immediately made me question if I had selected the right song. The song began with a calming, almost “by the beach” vibe– a ukulele in the background as the beat almost makes you want to swing your head side to side. It wasn’t unwelcoming, but it definitely caught me off guard. The more I listened, however, the more obvious the song got. It began to add more instruments into the background before diving headfirst into a full surf rock beat. “The Tide” is definitely a great attention grabber and introduction to the overall vibe that this album brings.
“Naomi” doesn’t pull the same trick, though, as the song immediately starts off with a bumping beat while still keeping the surfer rock-esque guitar sound to accompany it. It almost gives the same feeling as seeing the prettiest person in the world walk by the boardwalk, and now you can’t get them out of your mind. The song shares a dreamy and happy tone, which I think goes far in INOHA’s goal to create that scene in your head. While I do think the lyrics are a bit repetitive, it doesn’t take away from my overall feelings on the song itself. And with a guitar solo ending, the lyrics don’t even feel like they matter, as the feeling of the music is what truly cemented the song’s place on my own personal playlist.
“Seventh Heaven” was one of INOHA’s most popular songs before it was released on this album. The song has over 105 million streams on Spotify, and it shows. This song was one that I discovered before the album was released and it had no issue shooting up to my favorite song in the album. The entire song keeps an upbeat tempo, like it’s a song you’d play while you and your friends go off to have an adventure of a lifetime. The song ramps up the entire way through before mellowing out in the end, like you just finished having a blast and now you’re content to just sit back and relax after. I highly recommend this song for anyone who’s looking for something upbeat and adventurous.
When it comes to “GESHUOU,” it keeps the vibes of the song that came before it, yet almost feels more aggressive than adventurous. In correlation to the vibe of the entire album, it feels like someone’s stuck under an umbrella in the rain when they wanted to go to the beach. I don’t think this song is anything special, but I still think it’s a good song regardless. Just nothing to write home about.
“Saturday Nights” was a song that actually interested me, as the lyrics travel around the days of the week and the feelings that are usually associated with them. This song keeps the more casual surfer rock tone. It doesn’t go overboard or underboard, but keeps a bumping attitude from start to finish. It’s definitely a song I’d play on a Saturday night with friends.
I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about “Papaya Man” during my listen through. The lyrics threw me off a lot, as they didn’t make too much sense to me. The lyrics shift around the general topic of “something to eat” and finding “Papaya Man” late at night. The tone stays somewhat mellow yet keeps that surfer rock bump the whole way through. While the overall beat and tone were pretty nice, the lyrics threw me off too much for me to really enjoy this song to the fullest.
“Biggest Salmon” ditches the more laid-back surfer rock vibe in order to pursue a more straightforward rock track with slight surfer undertones. I think it’s a really good break from what was beginning to feel like “too much mellow.” The guitars in this song kept me hooked the whole way through, and took me back to songs like “Seventh Heaven” that used this more aggressive tone. However, this song uses this tone extremely well as a way to keep your body moving and kicking. It’s definitely an underrated song that I didn’t discover until now.
Much like the songs that came before it, “A Next Time” returns to that more surfer rock tone, though it sounds like the vocals are different from the main singer. However, I think it really works in this song’s favor. The vibe really matches the lyrics’ exploration of heartbreak and self-reflection. Throughout the song, you can hear parts where the vocals seem to return to how they are in other songs. I’m not sure if that was intentional or not, but it really adds to how good this song is, almost getting you riled up and ready for the finale that would come after, with clapping at the end verse to really get you excited for what’s next.
Finally, we have the album’s finale, “Trips.” Immediately, it takes that more mellow surfer rock tone you heard in “The Tide” and “Papaya Man” before swinging into the more bumping beat like the others. It doesn’t go into aggressive territory right away, choosing to keep it balanced throughout. It really does feel like the finale to an adventure, like you’re getting ready to hop back in the car and leave the beach behind. And as much as it hurts to go, you appreciate the fun time you had regardless. I think in an album like this, “Trips” does a fantastic job of wrapping the vibes up nicely.
Overall, is this a good album? My short answer is yes, I believe so. I think there are some things that don’t hit as hard as I would have hoped, but the balance of how good everything else is didn’t make it feel like a chore trying to get through the stuff that wasn’t as good. It took me back to times during the summer when I would hang out with my friends and my feelings across the entire trip. I think some songs could have used a bit more rock than surfer vibes, but it didn’t take away from my listening experience at all. And if this was just the vibe for the surfer rock themed album, I’m excited to see what ideas INOHA can come up with for future EPs and albums.
Michael Ardita can be contacted at
