This is the first time I’ve come across Bastions, and it’s been incredible. The band are super DIY, to the point where they made special arrangements to send an EP through the post rather than send it all digitally. It’s pretty easy to see why they’d go that effort – black print, gatefold cardboard stock, fully screenprinted artwork, drafting paper lyrics sheet, vinyl effect CD. This isn’t just 7 tracks of music, it’s a package and it’s the sort of package/attention to detail that gets you bloody excited before you even open it.
And then Crooked Hands literally bellows from the starting blocks. I’ll admit, I’ve had this EP for about 2 months and probably haven’t listened to much else since. The seven tracks here aren’t just a signpost to Bastions potential or a taster of bigger and better things – these songs are bigger and better things. Every track is dripping with emotion, lyrics that involve and match the music that just hits all the right notes. Bastions, to me, sound like Wales (and Britain’s in general) own Have Heart. It’s hardcore but it’s not flat or generic – it sounds positively dangerous at times. There are no hardcore cliches either, there’s no backwards bending to fit any mold – it’s about delivering a message, which at times is hair raisingly personal.
I’ve not been struck by any band like this for some time – 7 tracks that really ingrain and get stuck inside from the opener to the closing track Heir Of The Dog – alongside Ghost Of A Thousand and Gallows this is one of the three best hardcore releases from 2009 and for £4 you should pick this up as soon as possible.
This is a genuinely incredible release and one of those rare occasions that remind you just how good music can be.