Wot Gorilla?

New Arrival

Self-Released

Out Now

Rating: 4.5/5

After catching their set at Live at Leeds I immediately got my hands on Wot Gorilla's work to date; that is to say, their self-titled debut EP and this, their second. Possibly the only downside to what is otherwise a nigh-perfect recording is this- 'Fear of Flying', the opener, is by far the best track on here. Not only that, but out of the three tracks and an interlude, the second strongest is also the second track, '3 DAB's and a Chang', leaving the closer, 'Shoes for Traction' to seem more functional where on a lesser EP it might be a stand-out.

Sooner or later I'm going to have to stop saying this because I will have actually learned a thing or two about math-rock, but for the moment I still know little enough to confidently say that as far as I know, this is as good as it gets. Make sure you also check out their first effort as well, if only for the excellent 'We Go Way Back Like Like Spinal Cords and Car Seats' and '6 Double 5 3 2 1', the latter a track name which almost literally has math in it (ha ha). For me their greatest moments are when they go from the most abstract, angular material to the biggest guilty-pleasure pop rock; witness the “was that the engines cutting out?” middle eight of 'Fear of Flying' to get an idea. Though this may be Wot Gorilla's greatest weapon, they use it sparingly and it consequently never gets old.

The final verdict: highly entertaining, quite possibly future-proof rock.

[Both WG? EPs are now free to download; use the links above]