Bracken - Heathens
[Anticon]

Bracken is the new project of Chris Adams from Leeds experimentalists Hood and his debut EP Heathens, shares some of the same magical qualities that has donned the classic LPs Cold House and Outside Closer before it.

Heathens is one of those rare moments that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand and leaves you with a funny tingling feeling inside. Sewn together by a futuristic craftsman, the lead track seamingly skips and builds through Prefuse 73 stuttered claps and beats, dubby horns, hypnotic keyboards and Adams' half-troubled, half-heartbreak vocals.

The b-sides are a different kettle of fish altogether. We Cut The Tapes And Scatter is where outsider folk meets psych and hip hop, composed by live percussion, chopped up strings and guitars, to the space-like mantra vocals. Out is the EP's brief last moment; one and half minutes of spiralling Eno style ambience and the silent crackle of vinyl hiss, for what is the subtle but sublime end to a perfect record.

What I truly love about Heathens, is Bracken's flippant use of genre-fusing, from hip hop to electronica, to post-rock, trip-hop and shoegazing, this EP has everything imaginable. What a bold statement for a first release, the idea of a full-length offering is already leaving this listener drooling with anticipation.

Track Listing:

01. Heathens
02. Heathens (Redone by Alias & Why?)
03. We Cut The Tapes And Scatter
04. Out