HERD BEHAVIOUR
Animal Habitual (2017)

Recorded at Bedford Music Centre, April 2017. Recorded & Mixed by Chris Corney. Produced by Herd Behaviour.

A dreamy opening sways through with a classy sound on guitar on Albini making this a gorgeous and quite progressive instrumental to listen to.

I feel as though I am listening to a class act already Devil In Neon Light grips the ears and vocals are heard for the first time, both clear and well sung.

Medicine is played and sung like a relaxed slab of grunge drumming stands out a lot on this, fitting well and not just a plodding beat to accompany the song but instead adding bursts and flourished to keep the listener entertained.

Oh Donald “clown in the Whitehouse” has a gallop adding a great backing pace and no second guessing who this is about fusing clips of his speeches it is by no means a jolly song with dark tones and atmosphere which I personally enjoy, a great track.

Harmonising vocals on Low Sun makes this track stand out although the percussive and instrumentation drags in comparison as if unsure whether to be a crooner or a more hard hitting track adding a welcome guitar solo piece to lift the track from veering to any defined tempo.

Drone Dream is a class slice of heavy rock. I’m detecting nothing fast about this band, more of a brooding steady and in some places dark overtones oozing in well played atmosphere like a dark cloud clad horizon and a retread of repetition towards the end.

Hard to believe I am listening to a first EP new local band at times Fresh Hex sounds as though this band have been around for a while and picked up a bag full of tricks along the way. Grunge fuelled guitars and vocals that competently hold on to notes sometimes extending a squeal at the end makes this band seem longstanding professional stalwarts of their game already.

Dust Bowl treads a steady pace making me think this will burst in to a gallop to Gee it up any minute bud never does, preferring to keep to its same ambling pace throughout quite a standard song on the EP but still able to demonstrate a musical flair to their grime rock status.

Sounding like two songs played at once with deliberate eschewed drumming not fitting exactly with the song itself (how boring would that be) I love it! Night Of The Long Knives is a clever mix holding the interest throughout. As a natural born hater of monotonous bish bosh drumming I am struck at how this percussionist thrashes all over the place on drums he certainly knows what he is doing, bursting all over the kit complementing the sound so well. A really good track which I feel would go down great live.

Nebula is a short n sweet track although nothing short of sounding awesome with its psych rock flourishes, reminding me in style of grunge rockers Soundgarden in style and Herd Behaviour showing they have nothing but style in abundance.

An abstract image of lyrics forms Shipwreck Sunset with ah at last! A rock out guitar section rewarding the listener with a gallop to charge the sound before its fadeout.

Feeling free from everything even though trapped (In The Sights Of Your Scope) Sitting Pretty drags us to a hard hitting atmosphere laden sound with guitar whines. I wouldn’t say the tune grips you although does succeed in giving a well played good to listen to sound and a drawn out ending touching on brilliance, teasingly taking its time to come to the end and making me feel this would be an inspired choice to include as the final song of a live set to go out on.

Coming to the Endino now and a soaring soothing instrumental, clever sound manipulation with plucky guitars and hauntingly drifting melodies relaxing the listener in a progressive seascape wash of sound.

Overall; Heard Behaviour have a texture of brilliantly clever well played professional mix of enjoyable sound.

Review by keith. www.bedfordalternativemusic.co.uk