By John Sturm
I’ll let you in on secret, readers. I have no clue what bands mean when they label themselves as ‘post’ something. In the literal sense I get that it means ‘after’ but past that? Not a clue. Being part of this wonderful Ech(((o)))es and Dust family, I see many terms bandied around on the site and Twitter too and half the time I have no idea what it all means. Genre tags and “for fans of....” sentences help guide me but generally I just listen to the first minute or two of each track on the release and if something grabs me, I’ll review it. In that case of Windsor natives You Win Again Gravity and their EP Brightly Coloured Landscapes, it was the word “progressive*” that first caught my eye and the opening 30 seconds of their song ‘Subtlety’.
Opening with an understated melodic refrain, ‘Written Off As Fiction’ kicks the EP off in a kooky fashion. The chorus played in such an odd time signature that I really want to see this played live just to see how cocked up the audience gets with their clapping. Not content to stay still (musically) we are then treated to a monstrously heavy section welcomed into our ear canals by a gut wrench scream from vocalist Jack Jennings.
The aforementioned ‘Subtlety’ demonstrates the bands aggressive side magnificently with riffs so heavy and sharp that they should probably come with some sort of health and safety notice. At the very least a high-vis tabard. It’s nasty, angry yet shot through with melody and moments that you too can sing along with. The stop start dissonance of the last minute or so combines with an almost jazzy clean section. It’s bonkers stuff but it works.
‘Planets Align’ show the band stretching out musically with a wonderfully languid and ethereal opening that shows there’s more weapons in the bag for this band. Yes, they can shatter your eyes with heaviness but they are also more than capable of blending heavy and light together in way that sounds completely natural and unforced.
EP closer and title giver ‘Brightly Colours Landscapes’ begins with a fill from drummer James Mackenzie that sounds remarkably close to the drum intro to Welcome Home by King Diamond. I’m desperately hoping that’s the case ‘cos I’ve long held the belief that EVERY album could be made just that little bit better with the inclusion of a nod to the King. Anywho, the track lurches back and forth in groove and beats, again the ferocity of the guitars and vocals make your fillings vibrate. It’s the sound of a group of phenomenal musicians unleashing their demons onto their instruments.
This EP is a heavy, melodic metally-singy-proggy thing of wonder (see! I can do tags too!!). It has a beauty and ugliness rolled into one that manages to uplift you and make you mosh at the same time. Keep an eye on this band I have a good feeling about them......
*For those of you that like genre tags the band also describe themselves as “post-hardcore”. Happy now?
