Eat Your Own Head – The Trawler
Release Date: 31st May 2024
Label: Drongo Records
For Fans Of: Other Half | St. Pierre Snake Invasion | Staff Party
Aiming to redefine the UK rock scene, and yearning to do it loudly, Norwich-based wildcards Eat Your Own Head return with their new EP The Trawler. Featuring sessions recorded in a studio based in an ex-atomic bomb servicing facility, The Trawler is as explosive as the environment it was conceived in.
Whilst their 2022 debut album Neck deep In the Blyth thrust the group into the spotlight of tastemakers and radio stations alike, Eat Your Own Head have long since cut their teeth in carving a strong live reputation, of which translates clearly across this EP. The Trawler unfurls out like a highlight reel, segueing between gritty post-punk snarls, to math rock style time signatures and everything in between.
Taking listeners straight out of the gates and into the mosh pit is lead single ‘Chest Pains’, the longest of the tracks at just shy of five minutes. Loaded with dwarfing guitar riffs and raspy vocals, sneering the memorable hook “You stitched me up, but I’m alright with it”. This opener montages everything you could want with a down-tuned, punk-infused anthem.
By contrast, ‘Downriver’ flips the script in focusing all their sonic aggression to the verses. Where the track opens on almost stoner and doom-esque progressions, packed with call-and-response licks, chorus sections retreat to ambient and softer passages. The crooning harmonies eventually part for the band to build up to colossal peaks.
‘Hardwired’ is laden with new-age grunge and emo nuance. Opening with close vocal harmonies, and loaded with contemplative rhythmic pushes and pauses, the track embraces the breathing room before riding out on a thick overdriven apex. Signing off the EP is the ambitious title track ‘Trawler’. From prog-leaning time signatures to a fluid, swaggering vocal melody, this closer is even more eclectic than the three songs that precede it combined. Between syllable adjacent stabs and steamrolling riff-outs, each member has their own moment in the spotlight, without overcooking it or overstaying their welcome.
Aptly named, The Trawler unearths a seemingly limitless collaboration of influences deep below its surface. This EP is a celebration of the unexpected, packing more twists and turns in four tracks than most artists are able to attempt in a full studio album. From pockets of dark tranquillity to throat-straining hardcore crescendos, Eat Your Own Head’s wry humour and imaginative songwriting will justifiably keep audiences rubbernecking at each listen.
Catch Eat Your Own Head live over the Summer: