This new EP from Newcastle band Tusk feels like a step up from the single we reviewed last summer. Perhaps this is an illusion caused by having six tracks (plus a 25 second intro called 'Intronational') to get to grips with as opposed to the two songs before, but for whatever reason, Tusk now seem more inventive, more eclectic and quite possibly more fun. There are dribs and drabs of music from all over the shop being drawn into these songs. It's a kaleidoscopic collision of styles. This can be difficult to put into words, but here's a quick run-down. 'Lloyd Fleet' borrows from math-rock, overlays it with a pop melody and then swerves momentarily into spacious psychedelia; 'Don't Wake Quickfinch' has an almost Eastern feel but it mixes this with more high tempo drumming, a funky bassline and elements of electronica. These songs don't work on paper, but somehow do in real life.
Maybe there's a detective thing going on with the possible code name used in that song and its lyrics about not giving away positions and focusing on the mission. This is given extra credence on the puntastic 'Adolf Hipster', a choppy song about fighting that flits between styles. 'Screams On Screams' is a slower track to begin with but the math-funk soon joins in and lifts it. Then there's 'Irrelevant Development' with its spooky, dubby intro and new-wave flashes that soon give way to more snappy drumming and fiddly guitar lines. It's as if they have almost too many ideas to squeeze into these songs, but they somehow manage to pull it off. With the wordplay of the opener, and 'Adolf Hipster', it seems only right that they should end with a song called 'Outrocious'. And so they do. A bizarre, fun and interesting EP from a band who possibly have a few screws loose.
Tusk's website
Stream or buy the EP
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