EP REVIEW: Change Shape Future – Huxtable
Hailing from Scotland, alt-rockers HUXTABLE have been gradually gaining a following by touring around the country and from their previous release, EP called It’s A Trap in 2016. Since their formation in 2014, they have secured support roles alongside BIFFY CLYRO, SLAVES, and Zane Lowe, among others. Their new EP, called Change Shape Future, is the next step in their rapidly growing music career.
You’d be surprised, when listening to the first track, Don’t Do Anything Fancy, to learn that HUXTABLE is only has two members, as the sound is complete and as full as any band. Jordan Yates plays gutsy guitars riffs with quirky vocals, whilst Marc William Brown plays excited drums beats, and brings it all together with well placed harmonies, if that sounds like a combination you’re interested in, read on.
Continuing onto Super Toxic, a song which contains elements of GORILLAZ with high pitch vocals sung alongside the instruments and normal vocals. HUXTABLE have not stuck to a straight vocal line, instead opting for a mix of levels, adding some excitement to proceedings which certainly fit with the quirky music video, which features the Scottish duo performing in puppet form. That tells you everything you need to know about both the band and their musical sound.
In You Got It To Go higher pitched vocals take the overall sound away from rock and closer to alternative and pop side of music – riff-rock is what they call the intricate sound they’ve been perfecting over the last few years. HUXTABLE have worked out when to speed things up and when to slow them down, this is best shown in Break It Hard where the speeds roller-coaster in the most pleasing and effective way, all guided along through a very prominent guitar riff. Leading vocals give way to catchy guitar solos, which then come together, alternating throughout the song, never standing still for a second, a defining feature of HUXTABLE. Break It Hard is less quirky than the first few songs on the EP, straying less from the norm.
Bringing the EP to a close is another less quirky song, Act Of War is none the less a quality track with a easy to catch chorus and jam packed with rhymes. It has a political side as well, as hinted to in the title, ‘Take the wealth and spread it equal, but in turn deny your people’, there’s no better place to discuss these matters really. It can certainly be described as a pop track, but it fits naturally into Change Shape Future.
There are elements of HUXTABLE‘s music which step outside of the conventional, the inclusion of a kazoo, for example. The songs burst with energy, and layers of instruments and vocals. There are no dull moments on Change Shape Future, instead it’s packed full of emotion, hooky guitars, fast drums, and lots of energy.
Rating: 7/10
Change Shape Future is set for release on September 29th via self-release.
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