As diverse as Punktastic is, this is not a punk record by any stretch of the imagination. Still, this isn’t a bad thing necessary – makes a change and all that. Plus, I give automatic kudos for this EP having the same name as my favourite Elliott Smith album. Having said that, This Et Al are a band from Leeds who probably have the dubious honour of being the first band Punktastic has ever reviewed that class themselves as ‘Shoegazing’ on their myspace page.
Well this EP is strange hybrid between Muse and Queens of the Stoneage/Kyuss. Its fuzzy guitars and falsetto male vocals at its most energetic, whilst its more what Karate would have been had they rigidly stuck to 4/4 time in others. A musical odyssey I guess is what you could charitably call it.
For the most part, I find that this is music without a great deal of direction. Long instrumental cacophonies appear where they shouldn’t and the band don’t build on what they sound like they do best – the louder stuff. It’s too far down that rocky road of Psychedelic rock for the likes of me. I’m not often one to preach musical boundaries, but I think this is one band that won’t appeal to too many regular Punktastic members.
Mike Waldner-Scott