He might be twenty years dead, but Kurt Cobain is still working his very fertile loins. Sydney-siders Little Horn are the next band to emerge from the steamy Amazonian marshes somewhat southwest from Seattle. Little Horn come to us bearing a gift: their new EP, Stranger Eons.
With screeching vocals and heavy riffs Sydney’s Little Horn explode onto the scene with their debut EP Stranger Eons. Lovers of grunge and garage take note.
Swirling in a mystical mist Little Horn envelops with a landslide of grunge, humidifying the driest air and thickening the most fluid of groin sweat. These lads don’t just play grunge tunes, they’ve brought a truck and trailer full of them. If this EP doesn’t come with a complimentary refreshment towel, I seriously fear it’ll be labelled as a dangerous good.
Stranger Eons is comprised of four parts: Braindead, Soothsayer, Hive and Teenage Heroine. Like a good EP should, all these songs are peas from the same pod, with co- founder Lee Jowono’s deathly monotone singing joined by other co-founder Ryan Bevan’s cymbal bashing, Hamish Burns’ seemingly snail-pace riffs and Josh Clayton’s thumping bass.
Braindead, the first song on the EP, is the single the lads are trying to push. And you know what, they ain’t half wrong. An airy riff births the song, before the cloak opens are a driving riff – or riffing drive? – screeches out like a far less grisly metaphor of the alien offspring popping out of John Hurt’s stomach. Jowono cranks up his very grungey whine (“I dunnooooo” he endlessly repeats, as if he’s a angsty teen being asked why he’s booing Adam Goodes) before a guitar – probably Burns’ – begins to glide and glisten just south of Jowono’s vocals.
Stranger Eons appears to be the Sydneysiders’ first release, and pre-launch, the lads are already starting to get a hype train, not too dissimilar to the Hayne train, beginning to follow in their wake. They’re melting brains over at FBi and starting to make inroads at Unearthed, with reviews from triple J’s own Lachie Macara and Dave Ruby Howe, as well as a punter by the name of ‘Phobixa’ who said: “I want to play this song on repeat while drinking beers and smoking durries in the middle of summer”.
So if you’re up for getting loose – a position the band endorses – and you’re a little horn for Little Horn, then be sure to crank up that stereo and whip out the best Winny Blues you’ve got for a ride of your life. If you shut your windows and minimise ventilation, you can create a smog which only adds to the band’s lustre. Also, if you still want more and you’re not a lonely shut-in like I* and you live in Sydney, the lads are playing two gigs.
Thursday, 6 August – Marlborough Hotel, Newtown
Saturday, 15 August – The Vic, Enmore
*Ed: Your greenish greyish hue is starting to seep into the words Hartmann. You need to get out more.
