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When it comes to setting out their stall, Black Peaks are not mucking about.
The Brighton quartet’s debut, Statues begins with Glass Built Castles: 258 seconds of the most exhilarating and subtly intelligent modern rock music you’ll hear this year. Its many twists and turns provide a gripping showcase for this band’s instinctively progressive but accessible dismantling and rebuilding of so-called alternative rock.
The ensemble performances and arrangements are nothing short of miraculous, as elegant but robust melodies collide with on-a-sixpence dynamic shifts, climaxing with a strident and infectious chorus so strident and infectious the Ebola virus might think twice about crossing its path. The icing on the cake is frontman Will Gardner’s phenomenal voice: when he hits a high note, be prepared to peel yourself from the nearest wall.
Yes, Glass Built Castles is quite something. Black Peaks sustain the intrigue, the energy and the relentless barrage of ideas for the remainder of this dark, conceptual album. From the intermittently fiery and glacial Hang ’Em High to the jarring sprawl of the closing To Take The First Turn, this is a stunning display of raw talent and verve.
