Album Review: Wot Gorilla? - New Arrival

Halifax's finest math rock band, Wot Gorilla? are on the heels of their second EP, 'New Arrival', a huge step up in production as well as songwriting than their previous self-titled EP. James Kenosha who has previously produced fellow Leeds natives Pulled Apart by Horses as well as indie rock band Grammatics.

'Fear of Flying' contains a grandiose 1 minute opening of spastic, arpeggiated guitars before Mat Haigh's soothing vocals retell a story about the narrators fear of flying, his vocals really kick in when he says "I feel safer on the ground" and it's an adverse opposite in contrast to his soft vocals. As we progress through the narrative, the music does well to showcase the fear and paranoia that the narrator ensues. From a personal perspective, i've never really been a fan of instrumental breaks, I can't really tell whether or not all of this track was reversed or just a certain part but either way the haunting melody is relatively effective but I don't think an interlude for the second track is really all that necessary.

'Shoes for Traction' starts out with a Minus the Bear tinged riff which leads into some very impressive drum work from Si Marks, it isn't until halfway through when the track actually stops halfway that the song begins to get a pace and changes time signature and tempo, this is the point where the band actually showcases their musical talent to the best of their ability and shows what they are actually capable of doing. Closing track '3 Dabs and a Chang' starts out with some very experimental panning between the guitar and the drums before going into some heavy chords whilst Mat Haigh sings "Put yourself in my shoes, get your head out of the noose". The song is very fast paced but isn't really a perfect way to end an EP, either way it is still a very enjoyable listen for those who are fans of math rock.

5/5

'New Arrival' by Wot Gorilla? is available now through Idle Hands Records.

Official Website
Wot Gorilla? on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.

George Gadd