Concept albums and EPs are bloody difficult to get right. There are many many well established and often lauded artists who have tried and failed to portray a theme or story musically so its a rare and wonderful occasion when you chance upon one which has all the elements correctly in place. It’s an even rarer and amazing feat when that said concept piece is the debut EP for a band, and that’s what we have here!
Telling the tale of a woman with paranoid schizophrenia, we are taken through a journey of her unravelling mind as she moves away from her family, stops taking her medication and…well, I don’t want to spoil it all for you! Let’s just say the music and tone are your guide along the journey to create the scene as the lyrics fill in the gap and walk the tightrope of being ambiguous and patronising perfectly.
Musically the album twists and turns with the story with the first full tunes ‘Altercation’ and ‘Freedom of the Conscious Mind’ consisting of primarily clean vocals reminiscent of Mansun and The Contortionist whilst the rhythm section moves seamlessly through many different sections as the story progresses. The end of ‘Freedom of the Conscious Mind’ sees the music take a darker turn with a slow ‘doom laden’ riff before leading into ‘The Event’ which uses ‘Morning’ by Edvard Grieg to a chilling effect.

Kaan Tasan of No Consequence guests on the following track ‘Panic’, the heaviest of the album which sadly is also the shortest full track, the riffage at work here is truly beautiful and adds yet another element to this ever twisting beast before ‘Sanctuary’ drops us into a quiet piano and acoustic section briefly before the rhythm is set up for the last and most ambitious number ‘The Difference Between Drowning and Sinking’. This last track marries every trick in the book that we have heard from the rest of the EP and leaves you guessing constantly as to where the song will take you.
I can’t tell you how many times I have listened to this EP, it does seem that as soon as it ends I am starting straight from the beginning again. It is a hugely varied EP musically which considering it is only just over 20 minutes in length is an achievement in itself. They have left me needing more…and I really can’t make that a fault can I?!

Do yourself a favour and get yourself a copy here:

🎼Spotify: http://hyperurl.co/AnguishSpotify
🎬YouTube: http://hyperurl.co/AnguishYouTube
🎸Bandcamp: http://hyperurl.co/AnguishBandcamp
🎧iTunes: http://hyperurl.co/AnguishiTunes
📀Amazon: http://hyperurl.co/AnguishAmazon
▶Google Play: http://hyperurl.co/AnguishGooglePlay