It is just possible that, in an alternate reality, if Fugazi had grown up listening to Dillinger escape Plan and Radiohead (stay with me here OK?) that they’d have sounded a lot like this. Now Voyager are an interesting prospect who present themselves as if they’re a post rock band (ambiguous band name, underwater artwork), and yet burn off enough energy over the course of this short, twenty-minute EP, to light the whole of Reading (where this EP was recorded earlier this year.
Getting a handle on this lot is not easy mind. Stupefyingly heavy at times, these genre-bending munchkins rarely stay still long enough for you to have them figured out… whcih is undoubtedly exactly how they like it. Take first track ‘the surface’ for example, which opens with a blood-curdling scream and raging guitars, throws in a few programmed percussive flourishes and then takes a detour into indie territory just in case you’d fallen asleep at the back. It not so much sounds like a different song, as a different band entirely, and yet whilst the music shifts gear, the screams remain and suddenly, like a veil being pulled from our eyes, we’re back in the centre of a bloody mosh-pit, all shirtless, whippet thin teens pummelling us from every side – although where the freaky synth line fits in is anyone’s guess. It’s exhilarating though – and quite insane – and yet it works, pulling you in and keeping you enthralled as the band try out numerous  musical detours to see how they sound and feel, with the last, syncopated riff winning the award for most demented moment of the song. Of course, all this takes place in the space of a mere four minutes and then we’re into ‘seas’ – a brief piano piece that hauls itself out of the searing feedback and gently soothes away the aches and pains. It’s all quite beautiful, but it’s also very short and ‘top every beginning’ slams home like a roundhouse to the jaw, the rampaging percussion, atonal guitars and blistering screams proving to be a fine alternative to traditional paint-stripping methods.
At five minutes, ‘foundations’ is the EP’s impressive epic that sees distorted vocals echoing across a filmic backdrop of piano and orchestration before the guitars slam in once more sounding tight, clean and razor sharp. It’s a brilliantly heavy moment, but what impresses more is the ambition and scope of the piece, the band clearly not content just to strip the skin from your face with their brutal attack, but also after your soul, the music packing a powerful emotional, as well as visceral, punch. Here you’ll find melody, aggression, invention and power all wrapped up in one of the best produced EPs we’ve heard in some time. Final track ‘Tabula Rasa’ opens on a contemplative note that surprisingly recalls Anathema with its leaden bass and wailing guitar line, before a shimmering programmed drum beat kicks in shifting things in a different direction towards a hypnotic, dub/industrial take on post rock (think Mogwai’s ‘Kicking a dead pig’ album with punk vocals  and you’re in the right ballpark) that proves an entirely fitting end to such a monumental EP.
A most unusual act indeed, Now Voyager elevate themselves above so many of their peers by simply being brave enough to sound different and talented enough to pull it off with style and conviction. As vicious a fix as you could possibly want of searing punk-infused metal, there is so much variation here that the EP is over before you know it, leaving you only ready to delve straight back in again trying to decide once and for all if the band are progressive, metal, punk, post-rock or all of the above… we still have to decide, but whatever the answer is this is an awesome EP and one that is well worth your time in checking out.
As always – don’t take just our word for it, listen to the band here and make your own decision:
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