From its sharp and jagged punk beginnings to its spacey and lackadaisical ending, this SANDCASTLE EP from Nutritional Content in Melbourne, Australia is truly something to behold.
The EP from this Melbourne band is three tracks long for only about twenty minutes of material, but this is some serious stuff people. Sandcastle may have delivered us one of the most interesting, ambitious and dynamic offerings we’ve heard this year in a span as short as three tracks. Introductory track “Warriors” starts things off with a punch, blinding us with some tight, sharp and spiky guitars and a wonky bass line – then it all unravels with a hot and breezy surf rock hook that works as the transition into the stomping punk fury that follows. After a twangy solo, the song trails off into obscurity and we’re left guessing what’s to follow. Suddenly the guitars begin to reemerge along with some howling vocals and we’re back in familiar, stomping punk territory. It’s okay to feel totally exhilarated by the time Max Posthoorn’s wailing vocals are blaring through the ambiance.
“Red Lights” follows next and is a different type of beast. It’s a murky post-punk jam dripping with a sinister attitude and riddled with all sorts of jarring guitar shards that seem to be bouncing off the walls and refracting the light in all directions. It’s quite a challenging jam, featuring a relentless pounding snare drum that never misses a beat.
Last but not least, eight minute suite “Ice-Cream Treat” delivers the finishing blow with a knockout punch. It starts slow and easy with a fuzzy guitar, but not before things start to expand. They begin to lay it on heavy toward the three minute mark, with a long, staggering hook and a gritty, glowing guitar solo that really puts it all on the next level – as you were warned, this shit is for real. They continue onward with their messy, noisy onslaught – comprised of wailing guitars, crashing drums and evil shrieks – until the song loses its momentum and begins to die out with some gently lulling guitars and a blistering haze (which is an increasingly conflicting dichotomy) to wrap up this stunning EP.
That right there is more or less of a walk through the twenty minute duration of Sandcastle’s debut EP. Please listen to the entire thing below via Bandcamp because this stuff must be heard. After that, be sure to download the EP totally for free thanks to Nutritional Content on their Bandcamp page. The next step, of course, would be purchasing the vinyl directly from Nutritional Content – go ahead, you know you want to.
My Rating: SS
Genre/ Tags: Post-Punk, Noise Rock, Garage Rock, Ambient
Sandcastle 12″ EP: Tracklist:
1.) Warriors
2.) Red Lights
3.) Ice-Cream Treat
BUY the EP directly from Nutritional Content – highly recommended – edition of 215 !
DOWNLOAD the EP for free on the Sandcastle Bandcamp
Sandcastle on Facebook
Styrofoam Drone 
Amazing find.
truly. so glad I’m not the only one who thinks so.
Damn good rec, mate!! Make that THREE people (let’s hope there are MORE) that are flippin’ for this one!
fucking awesome