This is an experimental track; it’s recorded in dual mono. Quite how this works is described at the end of the review. I’d thought about putting all that detail into the review itself but thinking about it the important thing is what it sounds like. Basically there’s no point in being experimental if it doesn’t sound any good.

The good news is that it does sound good, really good. The power of the hard panned sounds is frankly scary. And even though you know there’s no stereo soundscape, your mind can’t help but construct one. But the thing is that you can, or at least I can, move the sounds within that soundscape. It’s really strange, and kinda wonderful.

Musically ‘Kosmische Musik?’is hitting all kinds of No-Wave, post-punk and Kraut-rock. There are hints, if you need to know, of the dirty synth sound of The Normal, the jerk and contortions of James Chance, the glorious rhythm of The Talking Heads. These are there but frankly unimportant because the sounds that assault you are the thing, the frankly irresistible jerky groove is a call to go wild on the dancefloor. The song seems to be about demanding your phone call to your lawyer when you’re under arrest and the prison system in general. But on another level the vocals are part of the music; they’re another layer of jerky rhythm.

Pop Vulture have made something, experimental as it is, that is a complete and utter joy to your ears, It’s compelling and irresistibly groovy.

The info

‘Kosmische Musik?’ was originally written as an ode to the genre of krautrock with it’s simple and repetitive melodies, slow developing, minimalist rhythms and extended instrumental sections along with politically stanced lyrics questioning the prison system. Wanting to use the constraints and sensibilities that krautrock had to offer, they looked for inspiration from bands such as CAN, Neu! and Kraftwerk. What emerged from this was just two simple guitar melodies that cut through the whole of the song, containing just five notes, which defines the cutback, minimalist approach to this song.

After spending some time in London, the band’s guitarist Jacob Tresidder did some work at Press Play Studio’s, owned by Andy Ramsay of Stereolab. During this time, Jacob was heavily inspired by Stereolab’s 2003 album “Margerine Eclipse” which presented itself in a form resembling very early stereo productions with very extreme and hard panning. The dual-mono presentation of the album piqued Pop Vulture’s interest that after a short band discussion it was decided to do a Dual-Mono version of a song.

The idea of Dual-Mono is that you have two mono arrangements of a song that when played together over two speakers come to form a new arrangement of the song collectively. This translates to having everything hard panned to either the left or the right channel aiming to create a pseudo-centre image.

Since the original ‘Kosmische Musik?’ had been recorded with such minimalist textures, an exploration into additional instrumentation and new melodies was devised and explored. The band recruited Sam Heffer, who drums for Leeds based band Dense, as well as Arron Francis, who plays saxophone for Leeds based band Genie Genie, and Adam Wilkin, an incredible Leeds based trombonist, to perform on this alternative and experimental version of the song.

The drumming of Luc Gibbons in the right channel is balanced out with the beats laid down through the left channel from Dense’s Sam Heffer. The synth bass riffs compliment those of Sam Curwen, various saxophone and trombone melodies peer in and out throughout the song.

The one, and sadly only, time I’ve seen Household Dogs live they left me flabbergasted with their varied sound, stage presence, and what I can only describe as the sheer righteousness of their songs.

And this EP, and I’m afraid to say this is a spoiler, has done exactly the same thing to me. To the point where actually trying to tear myself away from my rapt attention to the songs to put fingers to keyboard is almost impossible.

The opening track – ‘Jesus In Leather’ – is huge. This is a sound that has the feel of vast places, places in a place that you can’t quite put your finger on. It’s an unholy glorious mix of Nick Cave, late period Leonard Cohen and Theatre of Hate. There are clanging guitars that hit you like a hammer, angelic harmonies and sweet sweet sounds. It’s compelling, mesmirising and hypnotic. But listen closer, my friends, for then the words will come into sonic focus. And what words they are. This is far, far away from the average song lyric; these are lyrics that are poetry. They conjure up visions in your head.

Tear yourself away from that song, and move onto ‘To Be Adored’. An almost pop sound and a wild raw guitar sound are mixed, seasoned with the sweetest subtle guitar licks, and topped with a vocal that crawls from your speakers with something you could almost describe as menace. It’s the contrast that does it; that makes it wonderful, that provides the surprise. Again the words are words to listen to, to hear properly.

The sound of a storm and ‘Julliette’ is here. This has the feel of a Gothic Victorian novel, and yet also the feel of a soundtrack to a film about a dystopian future. A lead vocal that is upfront but almost whispered. There is a dark moodiness of an almost Americana feel mixed with this huge pop ballad. But the more I listen to the track, and this is more times than I care to tell you, there is something of the brooding vastness of The Doors that lurks in this song. And at the end you are left with ‘nothing gonna change, no nothing gonna change, the way you feel about the dead’.

And then we are at the close with ‘Ain’t That Girl At All’ which might sound like a retro sounding big orchestral pop ballad in the style of The Last Shadow Puppets. But as the vocals come in you realise this is nothing like that at all. This is darker, much darker. It tells a story, a story that I suspect will be different for each listener.

I haven’t come close to coming up with a genre that neatly encapsulates the sound of this EP. Americana post-punk, Gothic Americana rock, mutant orchestral pop, all figure but don’t come close. Whatever we’re going to call it, the music is put together with an outstanding level of skill. And while the songs may vary in sound, they have a feel, a mood, that hangs them together.

Although I’ve already said the words of these songs are wonderful, poetry-like; it’s worth repeating. These are lyrics on the same level as some of my favourite songwriters; Leonard Cohen I’ve already mentioned, Jim Morrison, Lou Reed, and Nick Cave are there.

All I can say in closing is that Household Dogs have made something here that I just don’t have the words to tell you how good it is. Each track stands alone but together they add up to something that is more than the sum of its parts. I want to drown myself in this EP, to play this on repeat until my neighbours scream for mercy.

This is music that has musical, lyrical and emotional depth. It is gloriously wonderful now, and deserves to go on into the future as a classic. It’s that brilliant. If you haven’t already, this is a ‘must listen to’ release. Go wallow, go drown, in its vast glorious moody darkness.