I looked forward to hearing this EP, as Bastions last release, Kingdom Of Dogs, was easily in my top five of last year. It’s only three tracks, sat at 9.5 minutes in total and yet it’s oddly structured which makes it an uncompromising listen.
The title track launches from the traps, full of meaty riffs and a ferocity that makes it sound like the man with the microphone might actually explode whilst you’re listening. It’s got some lovely guitar work and it all fits together like a big ball of pissed off.
Island Living flows into Soar, the second track, fantastically – Soar to me is the stronger of these two tracks, being faster and having the bigger hook before it ends in a wail of feedback.
The final track takes up almost exactly half the running time of the EP, and consists of bleak and sparse soundscapes married with what only sounds like a mental breakdown committed to tape. The Great Unwashed repeatedly builds a wall of sound before pulling it back down – it’s a challenging listen certainly.
I like the third track, but it’s really something you’ve got to listen to before it works. It’s not something you can put on whilst you cook the dinner, because otherwise you’ll probably end up in a ball crying on the floor surrounded by potatoes.
As a change of pace it works and as a curveball after the superb 1-2 of the opening tracks it’s great, but it’s not something I’ll hurry back to.
Musically Bastions have stepped forward I think, with a little bit more variation in instrumentation and an obvious step into an experimental vein – everything on offer here feels fresh and exciting, the band don’t disappoint there, I’m just not totally sold on the final track. At the end of an album it might seem a fitting closer but when space is tight, it seems to smash up the party before it starts.