Guineafowl - Hello Anxiety EP Review

'In Our Circles' opens with a spacey echoing guitar intro over a stomping bass drum pound before drums and a chugging bass line kick in part way through this opening track who's lyrics entitle the Sydney-based collectives' EP. Guineafowl's sound is refreshingly distinctive and individual though there are flavours of Arcade Fire, even of U2 and perhaps of the multi-part vocals of Bombay Bicycle Club; the blend is relatively strong with a distinctive catchy melody and confident power from the off.

The synth opening of 'Little Fingers' sounds akin to the introductory seconds of Human League's 'Together In Electric Dreams' but the track soon stomps into an indie strut with an infectious beat. With its' catchy stand-out chorus and multi-part vocals, 'Little Fingers' is exactly the kind of track that would get a festival crowd dancing to Guineafowl's summer infused blend. 'Botanist' then opens with quite a long instrumental introduction which sounds their trademark spacey guitars over synth beats; the vocals then join to follow the same melody as the electric guitar. Again, 'Botanist' sounds a catchy, feel-good, summery kind of vibe together with the electronic beat infusions of the likes of a calmer Foals or Bloc Party.

Whilst the first verse of 'My Lonely Arms' sounds much the same as the tracks that preceded it on this offering, the chorus strides into a much more up-tempo feel with the catchy repeated line chorus 'so I'm saying, so I'm saying that I can't go a day without thinking that you're fucking my brain', which swaggers with the kind of contemporary indie anxiety of The Pigeon Detectives. The 'Hello Anxiety' EP concludes with a lo fi demo version of 'Mothr', a track that sets out a chilled and folky track complete with piano and underpinned by a busy bass line. 'Mothr' then really kicks in and builds to quite a frantic final chorus with all instruments (a blend of guitars, piano and percussion) sounding busily at the same time.

Altogether, Guineafowl sound a refreshing, sun-drenched blend of indie and electonica that certainly whets ones appetite for more.

Hannah Spencer