Meat Wave - Brother EP

Their Brother EP is a long overdue mixtape of something old, something new and something borrowed. Two ‘old’ tracks, the sloppy racket of “Brother” and “It’s Not Alright” which takes its cues from the chunky grunge on Foo Fighters’ debut, are both taken from Meat Wave’s Self-Titled. That album’s best tracks, they’re the perfect bridge between past and present. “Brother” is a minute-and-a-half of balls, guts and fury which appeared third on the debut’s tracklisting but that works much better as a slap-in-the-face opening number. “You’re not my brother. You’re just some other, motherfucker’s brother,” sneers Sutter, the only lyrics that can be decrypted from amid the din. Similarly, the “This Is A Call”-esque “It’s Not Alright” takes off at urgent pace, splattering the walls with desperation and spit.

However, for all Meat Wave’s lo-fi aesthetics - tinny cymbal crashes, bleeding guitars and undecipherable, shouted lyrics buried beneath fuzz - there’s the scrappiest of pop sensibilities that runs through all their recordings. Take “Sham King”, the first of the ‘new’ offerings. Cheeky and hooky whilst equally taunting and bloodthirsty, Sutter’s vocals are a high pitched squall amongst driving riffs. ‘The Truth’s melody is equally as hummable while “Ants” opens with bouncy, confident guitars.

Of course a cover of Wipers' “Mystery” (which runs pretty akin to the original) and the Shellac-like “Sunlight” says much more about where Meat Wave place themselves sonically. Whereas other tracks bludgeon with blunted edges, here, wiry and tense guitar stabs don’t so much build as provide a pulsing current, jarring and trembling before fading away. It leaves you wanting more as does the EP as a whole – done and dusted in quarter of an hour. With Brother, Meat Wave have re-piqued interests once again. Let’s hope they don’t keep us waiting so long for what comes next.