Auckland four-piece HDSPNS' second release VIVIDISM is a strong development in song-craft. Directing the overtly schizophrenic styling's of 2012's EAI EP, they funnel a mix of math-rock and post-punk into five tracks that explore frantic tempo shifts and jittery cross rhythms.
While early Foals and Battles are influential points of reference, the Aucklanders succeed in carving a sound all their own. The production is raw, complementing the coarse guitar and shouty vocals, and while each song jolts from intricate time signatures to thrashing outbursts of noise, it never feels too crammed. The key strength lies in their rough-around-the-edges charm; a band united in purity of expression over perfectionism.
Highlights include opener 'AWA', a song that addresses leaving home ("Go! Go! Leave, home!") amidst shimmery lo-fi guitar, and recent single '54,000', which teases as a balls-out rocker before locking into the progressive and jarring eclecticism they play too well.
Expectations are deemed irrelevant with this four-piece who revel in stylistic surprise and the last thirty seconds do so with prowess. Screeching guitars run havoc in bitter melody, hitting a final stride with one last rollicking gasp, acting as the peak of the EP and leaving us greedy for more.
