Fuzzed out fury that resonates with a rawness that grips you by the throat. Dancing guitars, boisterous bass lines, and concrete weighted lyricism.
The 2-track begins with ‘The Boy In The Debs Suit‘ which is an atmospheric and moody post-punk anthem to a small town community and loss of a loved one.
Lyrically it is painfully direct with honesty and blood. Tender but terrifying it is an account of how easily a face you’ve grown complacent in the company of may be one you never see again.
It tackles the themes of mental health and toxic masculinity, speaking of the pain and hurt that may be hidden behind the scenes.
The guitar thrashes its way through a suitably frenzied riff while the drums pound out a painful heartbeat. The bass has a driven and haunting memory of melody that weaves its way underneath.
The EPs second track ‘I Claim To Be Intelligent‘ has a much more dark electronica sound in the vein of A Place To Bury Strangers or The Horrors.
It begins with the cascading drum beat backed by this echoing distortion on the fuzzed out groove of the guitar line. When the vocals join the fray they are a little more resigned with a spoken word honesty to each line.
The bass line waits for the vocals but joins in with this delicious tickling riff that fills out the sound and completely enchants the ear.
The song builds with this until the soundscape completely erupts into the pain soaked anguish of the first chorus. In the calm that follows the instrumentation takes a moment to dance with a more jazzy feeling fill that shows off the musicians skill.
The energy doesn’t have long enough to truly retreat though as the track launches back into the home chords but with the electricity and tempo drawn from the chorus.
Where the first track follows a more rigid structure and packs a heavy punk punch, the second offers a more progressive and poetic power that is evident in the instruments as well as the lyrics.
Slyrydes manage to show off two different faces to their sound on their debut physical release and each is as attractive as the other.
Head over to the Roughtrade site to order your own copy of this limited release.
Follow Slyrydes on Bandcamp to be kept upto date with new releases and upcoming shows.
Words by Matt Miles.
