Album DescriptionAvailable in:
Debut album from the Gallops
User Album Review
Two years is a modern eternity in the buzz battle of debut albums, but it’s a period that Gallops have determinedly waited out.
In 2010, they were a band ticking all of the Errors- and Battles-inspired boxes, fudging math-rock numbers with writhing, hook-laden electronica and post-rock. And their Gallops EP was a raw, opening salvo.
A collection of tracks driven by a dark, vibrant tension, the EP’s bludgeoning percussion and electronic pulses left an immediate impression. Songs of impact, if not longevity, they carried the early hallmarks of the band’s surging, technical ambition. And Yours Sincerely, Dr. Hardcore impressively crystallises that intent.
Beginning with the gargantuan black-hole implosion of Astaroth, it’s apparent that the Wrexham-based band is on a mission to detonate, not merely introduce itself. It’s a point mirrored in the coruscating drama of Crutches: an equally virulent finale that gloriously kicks this rampaging debut into a violent orbit.
Sandwiched by these crashing bookends, the meat of Yours Sincerely… quickly evolves into a relentless exercise in piston-punch beats, stabbing guitar and flickering electronics. No sooner has Astaroth’s opening bombast dissipated than the waspish electronica of Jeff Leopard powers toward the dropped-chord aggression of Hongliday.
Proceedings briefly level out with Lasers’ rhythmic digital squelch. But the frenetic tone of this set is urgently rebuilt with the itchy, ear-friendly melody of Rhythm is a Misery. It’s an unremitting, bruising pace that wastes little time between impacts as Dave Morait’s brutal hitting power provides the backbone from which Mark Huckridge, Paul Maurice and Brad Whyte co-ordinate a complex tapestry.
Never content to sit behind a steady formula, Gallops demonstrate an unerring confidence in balancing booming force with an adventurous, technical competence. G is for Jalie plays out like a session jam, a constantly shifting amalgam of structures and signatures that showcase the band’s instrument proficiency without sounding like an exercise in indulgence.
Given the time and opportunity, that’s exactly what Yours Sincerely… could have been. Instead, it’s one of 2012’s most resounding debuts.
External Album Reviews
None...
User Comments