Bears In Trees "I Want to Feel Chaotic" (2020)

Listening to this EP has given me some inspiration and motivation to write again so hi there! Bears In Trees is one of those bands that I didn't appreciate enough upon first encounter, yes Ramblings of a Lunatic was an incredible song but I didn't bother to look further than that until recently and when I did I wasn't disappointed by what I found, the British band has several EPs full of intricate songs with huge Dodie, Cavetown and The Front Bottoms influences, fun vocal runs being supported well by drums and guitar.

I Want to Feel Chaotic is my favourite EP from the band's discography so far. It is also their first record under the Counter Intuitive label and Bears In Trees delivered. Weighing in at 5 songs and 16 minutes of listening time it feels a bit short yet these songs all tell a story. Coming to terms with your own being, personality and the loss of close friends are all a part of theme of the record, it manages to clear up all the fog in your mind, the sound striking your bones and soul. 

Like mentioned before, the band has taken great influence from Dodie, Cavetown, The Front Bottoms and more, with clean guitar vocal runs, harmonies and fun drums their sound never feels overwhelming, creating the mind clearing experience I talked about above. It's not all whimsical though, the hooks remain fun, energetic and stick in your head urging you to dance and sing-along in your bedroom. Overall they sound like what a cold starry night looks and feels like.

My words really can't do this EP justice, plus my rustiness in writing these subjective reviews make it so I feel like there are things missing here, but oh well!

8/10

Bring Me The Horizon ''Post Human: Survival Horror'' (2020)

Having been a fan of BMTH for a few years and mainly of That's The spirit and Sempiternal hearing this EP for the first time scared me away a little. The massive blast beats, high energy sound wall and mix of Electronic, Metal and Pop influences were a little much in comparison to the other albums. Revisiting this 30 minute EP a month later changed my mind. I was on the edge of my seat listening to it, the Pop influenced hooks and Electronica around every corner combined with Mick Gordon helping on production and mixing this is I was very reminiscent of my dabble in the video game Doom Eternal.

This album length EP is BMTH's first try with their new formatting to releasing music, they were tired of the restrictions of albums and the suggestion of making EPs struck gold for the band. Post Human: Survival Horror is the first of apparently 4 EPs in the Post Human quartet. The first song Survival Horror perfectly embodies many peoples experiences with the global pandemic going around, they managed to capture pure frustration and translate it into music.

With dense synthesizers droning, heavy guitar riffs, blast beats, drums and samples galore this record keeps high energy while not forgetting about hooks and catchy melodies that stay in your head for weeks on end. They also remember to keep tuneful swaying bits in their songs, the perfect amount of time to really take in what you're listening to before the sound starts building up again and you find yourself completely immersed in it and Oli Sykes' screams. 

One certain track really stands out, the feature of BABYMETAL on Kingslayer, a song that could very well fit on the Japanese groups discography. Utilising their quirks and musical aesthetics combined with the rest of this EPs general sound makes this song the favourite of many. Furthermore Teardrops has made a name for itself in my head, it's catchy hooks and melodies won't leave my mind and they got me to listen this record more times than I can count.

All in all this album length EP is incredibly cunning, utilising many features for some unique sounds and voices while keeping it concise and cohesive, seeing this change in the band's direction is an exciting one, I'm curious as to what the other records under the Post Human banner will bring, I am hoping that they get their own identities and quirks instead of them being copies of each other with slightly different meanings, I have high hopes for the future.

9/10