CRY - 'Brontide' EP Review

Tracklist:

1. Labcoats

2. Tether

3. Charades

4. Fade

In 2016, a 3 piece Welsh Alternative Rock band released an EP titled 'Catch The Sun'. This record was jam packed with incredible riffs and rhythms, rivalling Alternative Rock giants, Mr Bungle and Incubus. This band, CRY, have a new EP out, one that surpasses the previous one. And unlike the previous record, this one presents Dylan Lloyd as a formidable vocalist and an impressive guitar hero. The man is backed up by an incredible rhythm section; kudos to bass man, ’Hitchen’ and drummer, Darren Dorling.

The record is called 'Brontide', and the first track is titled ‘Labcoats’. If the steampunk riffage doesn't get your head bopping, nothing will. This clockwork monster plays host to a sweet narrative, a vocal track hidden within the circuitry of the machine. The circus like rhythm crusts and delivers a Muse style outer layer, adding depth, gravitas and light to the abomination. But thats not to take away from the beautiful ‘Badalamenti’ verses and choruses, indeed, one can imagine hearing this tune at the Black Lodge or perhaps even, in Norma’s Diner. Towards the end, the song breaks down and becomes a Cronenberg creation, with hints and aspects of Giger, Bacon and Helnwein. The song in itself is very dark and disturbing, but it is also very beautiful. One would expect a band such as Deftones, or perhaps, even the Dresden Dolls, to write something of this quality.

If ever post-hardcore rockers Biffy Clyro were to attempt to cover Thom Yorke, it would probably sound a little bit like ‘Tether’. ‘Tether’ is a tune that belongs in an abandoned house, full of cobwebs and broken mirrors. The song portrays an invisible character; one you see in the reflection from glass shards scattered over the wooden floorboards. Its ethereal, and it’s chilling, but the sharp and short choruses inject a healthy dose mid 90s angst into our brains, bringing us back to the real world. As we get to the final chorus, all pumped and wanting more, the band leave us on a cliffhanger, finishing on an impromptu ending, very cheeky.

’Charades’, the type of song one would expect to hear blasting out from stereos on the Sunset Strip. If one could imagine Josh Homme pulling up, smuggling the Chilli Peppers in to the back seat and then driving down the Californian coast line then one might get a rough idea as to how this tune plays out. The beautiful sweeping chords may take you to the desert, but the funky guitar placed in the verses will take you back to the beach. This song features the catchiest chorus this side of Alternative Rock, it will stay with you all day. In short, this tune is more cocktails and happy times than deep thought and hallucinogenics. That is not to say the tune is without depth, indeed Lloyd’s vocals and lyrical content weigh the song the down; stopping it from climbing to a sugary Pop altitude.

Imagine Soundgarden jamming a Pink Floyd, while the ghost of Jeff Buckley filters into the bands conjoined subconscious. This might give you a feel of ‘Fade’. It is a beautiful blend of shoe gaze, Desert Rock and Post-Metal. It is haunted by the ghost of shamans, enlightened figures from an old age, looking to the stars at night. It is ethereal, mystic and, above all, magical. ‘Fade’ is a nice ender to a multilayered and complex record.

'Brontide' is an expansive musical vision charged with a wonderful juxtaposition between Pop and Prog, one that doesn't either. This could be the record that ultimately that decides whether the band copy Muse and model themselves on Glam Rock, specifically Prince and Queen, or whether they stick to their guns, ’Dream Theatre’ it up and become the new Fall Of Troy. Who knows, who cares, all I know is that these guys are ones to watch, they may even spark a Prog-Pop revolution.