It seems apt that Human Potential’s third album should be named for a quote from German filmmaker Werner Herzog. From the get-go, Hot Gun Western City is a passionately cinematic affair, as Human Potential strives to craft a dramatic soundscape by way of electronic sounds and rhythmic momentum.
There are echoes of modern progressive rock on this record — as well as dream pop — but refreshingly, Human Potential never descend into genre tropes. Indeed, each track brings something slightly different to the table in this atmospheric journey, as the project try their hand at instrumental writing (“Majestic Park Training”), experimental pop (“Hot Gun Western City”), and shorter-form tracks (“Notes from the Moon Factory Parking Lot”). It’s not always especially energetic or hook-driven, though it doesn’t want or need to be; rather, Hot Gun Western City is a slow-burn of a record, but thanks to the band’s ability to adapt their style, it’s one that is never bereft of creativity