An EP is an auditory window to the soul. Whether it’s a band in the infancy of their career laying out their opening salvo, or a veteran act dipping their toes into more experimental waters, it gives the listener a glimpse into what lies beneath any aesthetic visage. Following on from their debut album Raptor’s Breath, Snake Tongue returns with No Escape No Excuses (The Sign Records), an EP that is a sonic departure as well as a statement of intent.

From the opening notes of ‘Corrupted Beat’, it’s apparent that things are going to be rather different from the debut. Musically things aren’t a million miles away, but the production is much more raw and grimy. It gives the songs a more enlivened feel, as if the band is playing in one another’s faces, and over the shoulder of the listener. This live sound gives room for charming imperfections in the production and it is here that the beauty lies.

This EP is completely bereft of pretense; it’s all real musicians playing deeply personal music. The actual sound of the EP is dense and on first listen appears muddied, the vocals in particular sinking into the musical ocean. While some of the instrumentation is washed away in a sea of low-end, each repeated experience reveals more for the listener to sink their teeth into.

As far as the music itself goes, this is Metallic Hardcore that doesn’t spare any expense in brutality. Its closest sonic kinship is the work of early Converge, a bold statement but one that is wholly earned through a mature and virtuosic performance from all parties involved. The guitars grind around expansive riffs as the rhythm section attack their instruments in shocking fashion.

Vocally, we don’t just get the standard barks and yelps that one might expect, instead, we get an emotionally open shout that strays into agonised moaning. The players together work as a cohesive unit making interesting and surprisingly complex music.

Snake Tongue has outdone itself with a musically complex and emotionally resonant EP. Every performance is of high order with particular plaudits needing to be afforded to the vocal delivery. This is a glimpse at the grandeur Snake Tongue have in them. It’s not quite the finished article with some of the instrumental complexity being lost in the mix, but it shows a tremendously bright future and makes the band a terrifyingly exciting prospect.

7 / 10

SAM SAVIGNY