Estrons, You Say I'm Too Much, I Say You're Not Enough - album review
Welsh indie trio Estrons have been making some waves.
And not just with the aquatic cover to this debut studio album of theirs - no, they were turning heads with previous recordings and performances.
A spokesperson for the band says: "With its off-kilter rhythms, angular guitar work and clashing atmospherics, the album is both arresting and thrillingly disorienting – a fitting sound for a band of highly driven, frustrated, volatile people."
We feel this sums them up perfectly based on the 10 tracks featured here.
Forget your seven-minute naval gazing, slow-creep guitar tracks. This is bish, bash, bosh, here and gone again in often less-than-three-minutes.
Opener Lilac encapsulates this 'disorienting' aura. Its jittering guitar from Rhodri Daniel both shakes the eardrums and calms the nerves in equal measure. Its an unusual feeling but one that secretly you enjoy.
It's not the only juxtaposition. Tali Källström's vocals are also playing the game. On the one hand, her punchy style is reminiscent of Karen O at her most punky. While at the same time, there is something endearingly sweet about them, like fellow Welsh warbler Bryde.
Those jumpy guitar lines are at it again in Killing Your Love and, like last time, you can't help but get sucked in despite the track's similarities to the one before it.
They're not just one-trick ponies mind. Make A Man is full of disgruntled frustration that pours out in those explosive chorus melodies.
The DIY feel to Jade continues those Yeah Yeah Yeahs vibes alluded to earlier. Here, Steffan Pringle's bass holds sway and slaps wildly at you through the aggro-fused verses before Daniel rejoins the party for the choruses.
And in the softer Jesus... there is much to enjoy, too. A terrific beat throughout gets the feet tapping subconsciously. It's like Radiohead discovered country at a young age instead and anthemic record The Bends was influenced by the American south.
There's so much going into this that you can discover something new with each listen. And the length makes it so accessible too. It invites you back for more and more and before you know it, you're eight pints in and lost in the party. it's a great party too.
Rating: 8/10
Estrons will rock Birmingham's Castle & Falcon on November 15