Our good friends Krooked Tongue ’s muchly anticipated EP was released a couple of weeks ago. Three singles and a bonus track combined into a short 15-minutes of heavy (hopefully) great British indie music. Without further ado, let’s get on with the review!
Opening track ‘Vampyre’ gives a perfect glimpse into what the band is all about. Opening on a fuzzy, phat riff, the band soon explodes in to join the guitar into an exquisite wall of sound. The lingering note through the opening is also great, fitting the tone and genre perfectly. It drops back a bit for the verse, the vocals filling out the space in a very Kasabian type of way. The chorus is a little more open and pretty catchy vocally, channelling the heavy-indie vibe perfectly. We head into an awesome little breakdown/guitar solo bit between the second and third choruses, keeping the track pretty heavy. Overall, it’s just a damn enjoyable track and one that easily makes the playlist!
‘Freaky Love’ somehow opens on an even better riff than the previous track, it sounding like a heavier Arctic Monkeys. The vocals again add a catchy, pop-edge to things, showing that this track is a little more chilled out than the other one. The chorus is again big and fun, having a more American indie vibe to it than most we hear in this country. In fact, it’s a chilled song overall, more so than I was expecting, and really shows off the band’s versatility across just two tracks on a pretty short EP. The quiet build-up through the bridge was also a great touch, making the outro feel all the more massive. Another good track!
‘Swarm’ is a track I have heard a fair bit as it is the track that was released around the time that we interviewed the band (which you can find here). It still has yet to get old. While it still has a bit of a chilled vibe to it, the bass tone is SO heavy still that it carries the sound throughout. It has a deliberate, plodding pace to it, also helping the heaviness when the instrumentation isn’t necessarily that heavy. The vocals are all catchy but especially through the epic, slow chorus. Also, the Frusciante-style riff for the breakdown/bridge is amazing, as is all the instrumentation around it. I REALLY want to see this song live! Awesome and another that makes the playlist!
Finally, we reach the title track of the EP. It’s a similar pace and feel as ‘Swarm’, but the chorus is arguably a little heavier. Because of this, there isn’t much that stands out on the track. That is until it reaches the ‘shhh’. Firstly, a momentary gap in the song is always a fantastic bit of song-writing when done well like it is here. Then, when the riff explodes back in, it sounds insane. It almost gives off Tool vibes with all the different parts going off. That feeling runs through the rest of the track too, a real highlight of the EP.
Overall: This was as awesome as expected. The band are three amazingly talented players and songwriters and that was on full display here. I am not usually one for British indie music but these guys always impress with their heavier take on it. They could be massive soon if they keep putting stuff out like this!
Score: 7.5/10
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