EP Review: Villanelle & The Northern Wonder - Dark Days At The Grand

Villanelle & The Northern Wonder have raised their game with this, their vivid and brooding debut EP 'Dark Days at the Grand'. Produced by Sunglasses for Jaws, the four-track release combines dark Americana stylings with 70's fuzz-rock. Heavy bass-lines and a rich vocal style are the standout features in an EP that makes no doubt about the fact that this Manchester-based duo have settled into their own unique sound.

The opener, 'Clever Girl', roars out of the gates with a chorus-laden guitar hook and a massive fuzz-bass part, while a sinister sounding organ foreshadows the dark path this EP is eventually going to find itself going down - this isn't your ordinary alt-rock band. The cryptic, metaphor-soaked lyrics draw clear inspiration from Alex Turner and Father John Misty, but these influences are ones which Villanelle are more than happy to wear on their sleeve. For instance, the falsetto backing-vocal utilised in 'Room 30' is a trick plucked straight from the top drawer of the Arctic Monkeys' more recent work.

But, in combination with the bluesy baritone of the lead guitar in this track, Villanelle have ended up with a distinctive, surfy, and yet foreboding sound. In the next track, 'Oh God', they adopt a snappier, more modern style, laying down a sleazy, double-tracked vocal over an absolutely enormous drum part. The production sounds almost like a hip-hop track with its use of breakbeats and monstrous fills, tied together with a recurring, stabbing hook.

This is a perfect example of a song that rocks the boat within a wider programme of music, comfortable doing something different whilst not straying stylistically too far from the rest of the EP. Finally, we come to 'Horoscope Wytch', a doom-filled fuzz-fest of a closing track. The haunting organ is back for more, as the music marches into the realm of eldritch psychedelia. The song stretches out to infinity with endless single-chord drones, finally resolving into the climactic finale, the whispers of "witch" fading out alongside ominous piano chords.

After listening to this EP, you'll feel astonished that anyone can fit quite so much music into just 14 minutes. Villanelle & The Northern Wonder have come out with four incredibly slick and well-flowing tracks here, all of which they must be desperate to put in front of a live audience as soon as possible. Their dark take on alt-rock is sure to find them filling venues when they do. 

Words: Ben Gawne