Dark Music Review - Wychhound EP
Review Written By Casey Douglass
A few nights ago, I was
browsing the interwebs like a bored spider looking for a fly, and I
came across Wychhound, a North London Stoner rock/grungy metally
band. I gave their EP a listen and was pretty bowled over by what I
heard.
Cold Temple opens with
an easy pace, Jimmy Holified’s vocals sitting comfortably on layers
of fuzzy guitar and punchy drums. Then the main chorus hits “It’s
gonner follow you-uuu--”, the guitar swelling and cosseting the
words, before letting rip a little as the next verse kicks in. Cold
Temple is a seriously ear-worming track, and features some nice
changes of pace and soloing, especially in the second part of the
track, which turns into a different kind of beast.
Next up is House of
Cards, a track that opens with gentle guitar melody and a more
relaxed tone. As the heavier guitar backing comes in, it foreshadows
the melody of the chorus, kicking off with the “I am the wind that
blows” and venting until things die down once more for the rest of
the song. Just after the midpoint of the track brace yourself for a
fantastic guitar solo too.
Truant Mind is the
penultimate track, and it starts with a heavy pounding wall of noise
and a drum rhythm that grabs your forehead and forces it into a
nodding pattern. Jimmy’s vocals really cry out well in this track,
embodying the angst of the subject of the song. I enjoyed Truant Mind
for these reasons but did find it less ear-worming than the previous
two.
Last up is Hourglass,
listed as a bonus track. After an upbeat opening interspersed with
heavier doses of guitar, things get even heavier as the vocals kick
in, backed by a wall of fuzz that dances and buoys up the soulful
words. Again, not a 100% ear-worming track but the rhythm still gets
you nodding along.
The Wychhound EP is a
solid collection of tracks that all feature some great rhythms and
themes. I really clicked with the first two but enjoyed the others as
well. A quick browse of Wychhound’s Facebook page appears to show
that they are working on their next EP at the moment, which on the
basis of what I have heard already, I will be eager to check out. I’d
give the Wychhound EP 4/5: it’s just the kind of thing that I enjoy
at the moment and has entered my album rotation. That should say it
all really.
Wychhound consists of
Jimmy Holifield (Vocals), Miles Mcdonald (Guitar), Roberto Pini
(Guitar), Neil Neighbour (Bass) and Sid Naghdi (Drums).
Visit Wychhound on their Bandcamp page here and check out Cold Temple below:
Album Title:
Wychhound EP
Artist: Wychhound
Cover Art: Ben
Hickman
Released: March
24, 2015
