Brighton-via-Colchester four-piece Egyptian Blue have been turning heads in 2019 due to their abrasive style of post-punk. After drip-feeding singles across the space of approximately nine months, they've packaged four blazing songs and served them up on their debut EP Collateral Damage, released via Yala! Records.
The songs on the EP were inspired by a series of conversations overheard by the band during the late hours of the night when the streets are full of people who have had more than a couple of drinks, and one's inner thoughts are as dark as the night's sky. Through the use of vignettes, the band are able to channel an expansive range of emotions, from feeling fear or panic to pure exhilaration — all of which portray different sides of the human psyche.
Collateral Damage opens with the thrashing sounds of 'Collateral'. A fitting opening to an EP that's non-stop madness, the track is an exploration of anxiety and how it can control the way you live your life. 'Collateral' in particular was inspired by a friend's struggle with social anxiety, and how it prevented them from meeting someone they fell in love with online in real life. Listening to the track makes you feel like you've succumbed to an all-consuming fever, and the only way to possibly to free yourself from it is to endure it and sweat it out. The words that grasp onto you on 'Collateral' are, "Your message has not been received, you been deceived," towards the end. Next up, 'To Be Felt', sees them maintain their high-powered energy. The track is a reflection of connection and how easy it is to find yourself detached from the world around you. 'To Be Felt' depicts a deep state of insomnia, where you're exhausted but overcome with heightened senses.
As the EP progresses, there's no stopping Egyptian Blue. Sharp and direct, 'Contain It' features vocals that appear in bursts. As the song continues, the enraging instrumentals appear layered above the vocals, which evokes a sense of drowning or feeling rattled by an insurgence of unstoppable thought patterns. Collateral Damage closes as frantic as it started with the hallucinogenic-inspired track 'Adderall', which has been appropriately named. Throughout 'Adderall', they describe an array of physiological and psychological mind-altering sensations. As you listen to the song, it makes you feel jittery in the way it paints someone who desperately needs to crawl out of their skin.
Collateral Damage is unnerving madness in the best way possible. Egyptian Blue is able to capture the most haunting sides of the human mind across four chaotic and unnerving perfect slices of post-punk.
Watch the video for 'Collateral':
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