We Fell From The Top Of The End Of The World is an EP that spans every peak and valley and truly introduces the listener to the scope of this band. Edityourhometown have a vast and expansive sound, and you can hear every tendril of it within this EP.
With the first song You’re So Fast, For Being So Small Edityourhometown open the EP with an explosion. They sound like a band possessed and to those uninitiated with the Math Rock sound it may seem chaotic and nonsensical. The trick of it is that this is some of possibly the most technical and tightly interwoven music out there. Lyrical duties are split on this track and whilst you could never call it harmonic the echo and call, back and forth lyric delivery fits perfectly atop the jarring guitars. Sitting in the middle of this track is a tasty little instrumental, seemingly coming out of nowhere and donning a sombrero is a licking of spanish guitar and “arreeeeba” which positively stinks of sweaty, sunny, summer dancing. When the vocals return, they are far softer, and more classically appealing, the darkness is this time brought to us in the lyrics themselves rather than the delivery with lines such as “I see her, she’s clawing lines into her blackened eyes” and “sat in the darkness is a figure, he grabs her by the neck and cuts her throat“. In just this one track you can hear all the different directions this band is likely to rocket off in, and it is a dazzling display. It is also made abundantly clear that there is unlikely to be much of that verse-chorus-verse bullshit going on in this EP, which I for one won’t miss at all.
With track two If You Don’t Get That Mask Back Something Terrible Will Happen the band explore further levels of technicality, lacing delicately passionate vocal delivery and scattering skillful guitar over the top of it’s thumping rhythmic base. Both melodious and manic this track is another excellent reason to give this EP a listen, it may even be the Yack personal favourite.
Behind The Ivory’s Short Of Tea & Ray is a different beast entirely, it is essentially poetry, dancing politely atop a stripped back and simple guitar. Lyrically it is arresting, and taking the time to immerse yourself fully in this track, maybe over a couple play-throughs is advised. Trying to dissect or display the lyrics without the context of the song itself as a whole is pointless, listen carefully and analyze it yourselves. This momentary tranquility kind of feels like walking into the eye of a storm and discovering that at it’s heart is a sun dappled meadow, you lay down for a moment and enjoy the peace, knowing that with every passing second the storm is once more edging slowly closer.
The storm hits in the form of I, Chairman Drekk, Have A Question but if you think that means it is time to flee you are mistaken, stay precisely where you are and bask in the tumultuous and raw beauty of it. This track provides a more typical and universally appealing sound, in equal parts heavy and soft, with a more stylistic vocal approach. It introduces yet another side to this band, and it’s a meaty and full sounding one.
Don’t Talk, Don’t Even Chuckle, Next Time You Turn The Valve mixes all the elements heard on the previous tracks and builds them together creating a kaleidoscopic collage. This results in what for me is the best track on the album, their influences and ideals all coming together in one furiously fevered track. Progressing from the almost Inme meets Enter Shikari start into their frenzied math rock core bringing to mind Hella and Lightning Bolt, from there the track quietens down again and we’re hit with the poetic once more, with a simple but powerful lyrical refrain.
We Fell From The Top Of The End Of The World makes symmetry out of chaos and order, the technicality and lyrical poignancy winding together in a dizzying display. Like an onion the clash can at first be an abrasive one, but peeling back the layers and examining just how perfectly they slot together is an interesting and rewarding experience. This is a professional and expertly produced EP from a band that take what they are doing seriously and that allows the passion at the heart of it to sing out.
Words by Matt Miles
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