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UK Special — On the Radar: Great Western

One can hear influences in their material from a range of bands running from Voivod to Mastodon to Radiohead, and London-based bruisers Great Western seem to relish the diversity in their sound. The  trio of Rufus Miller, Ralph Fuller and Frederick Fuller released their debut EP, Warrior of Light, earlier in 2012, and showed no shortage of sludge-rocking burl on it. Tracks like “New Government” had memorable melodies alongside noise-rocking gruffness, taking stoner riffs to a kind of garage punk mentality, while the acoustic “Been Gone” tapped post-Wovenhand country-stalking Americana and had both a sweet simplicity and sense of lurking danger.

Among its five component tracks was the opening punk-metal blaster “Son of a Gun,” which spawned the following charm-heavy video:

Pretty hard to argue with that, but what I dig even more than that is the fact that Great Western have already issued a follow-up single to Warrior of Light. The track is called “Hearse,” and like its predecessor EP — which itself is just now seeing an official online release through Handspun Records — it’s available for checking out at the band’s Bandcamp page. Recorded earlier in this year, it seems to endeavor to blend some of the different sides of Great Western‘s personality that show up on Warrior of Light, so that after the moody subdued part, they launch into a raging, yell-filled onslaught (I can’t help but hear Andy from Clamfight in the harshest vocals), soon to be offset by slide guitar ambience and Across Tundras-style expanse.

It’s a cool blend — especially for a track that’s under five minutes long — and while they don’t have a VHS-style video for it, “Hearse” is still worth checking out, say, on the player below:

Right on. If you dig what you hear and you’re in or near London, you can check out Great Western live at Catch 22 on Oct. 25. They’ll share the stage with Ltnt and Buffalo Bones. For more info, hit them up on Thee Facebooks, Thy Twitterings, Los Tumbleros or their regular old Bandcamp page.

Look for a couple more On the Radars to come as UK special week continues.

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