Two years after their debut release Pantheon of Stars, and fresh from the success of their Hoxton-based Club Raven nights, London quartet Raven Beats Crow return with new EP Zola Budd in tow. Recorded by the band, and mixed by past producers for Bloc Party, Klaxons, Super Furry Animals and Animal Collective, this five-song EP is an amalgamation of influence from the aforementioned bands and the electronic sounds that infiltrated their debut.

Fast becoming an alternative attraction in the London underground scene – their frenetic live shows and musical alter-egos simultaneously heightened and hidden by their tendency to wear animal masks on stage – Raven Beats Crow have taken the effort to incorporate an array of musical styles and genres into Zola Budd. The result is a record that defies definition, with each song on the EP sounding very different from the tracks surrounding it. First song ‘Escalator’ begins with rumbles of long, thundering bass notes, before the electrics kick in and layers of percussion are added to the equation. Raven Beats Crow’s singer has a voice that is deep and slightly raw sounding, yet this first song is the only time where his true voice is displayed, as from second track ‘Dead.com’ onwards almost all the vocals are distorted through a vocoder. ‘Dead.com’ features a range of electronic instruments, and its influences stretch far and wide, with hints of Brit Pop, 80s electronica and the more modern stylings of electropop acts such as Hot Chip demonstrated in this one track alone.

‘So Long Pogo’ slows down the pace, and its repetitive chorus of “So long pogo, country dance with me/ So long pogo, walk the plank with me” is drenched in Brit Pop nostalgia, of the disco-esque Pulp and The Lighting Seeds variety, rather than that of Oasis and Blur. Standout track ‘S.U.N.’ begins with video game firings, clouding the song in 80s and 90s reminiscence, while Raven Beats Crow quickly update their sound with almost lo-fi-like vocals and dreamy lyrics such as “I’m staring at the sun/ It’s not quite so bad”. The chorus is fused together with numerous layers of vocoded vocals, its consequent harmonies testament to the psychedelic, sonic sound that the band claims to compose.

EP closer ‘Chrome Yellow’ once again changes dynamics and subverts the listener’s expectations, and the fast-paced pulsing beats from an analogue drum machine come as quite a shock after the quiet, rippling demise of the track’s predecessor. The song ends in a flurry of diminishing electric noodling and keyboard synths, and leaves the listener in a slight state of bewilderment. Although Zola Budd is a combination of influences, sounds and instruments, it is hard to pigeonhole the band and place them into any one genre. Likewise it is equally difficult to describe the EP itself, as each individual track sounds completely different to the next, and occasionally lead to the record appearing disjointed. Although this jumbled approach is not necessarily a bad thing – indeed it is refreshing to stumble across a band and a record that successfully welds genres and sounds, and where experimentation is at the fore – you can’t help but wonder whether the band’s next release should perhaps try to focus on their own unique sonic meanderings, and in turn create a more uniform, yet original sound.