Gauntlet Hair - Stills

If you’re looking for something to cool you down in this summer heat, look no further. From opener ‘Human Nature’, there’s something resolutely cold about Gauntlet Hair’s second album, ‘Stills’. It’s filled with cool sounds, and makes for an interesting listen, but it’s not engaging. It leaves the listener unfeeling, untouched.

‘Spew’, following the opener, is slightly livelier, showing off the pair’s newer, industrial edge. ‘Simple’ carries on this trend, and it’s all very same-y. Again, it’s something to be put on in the background, or to show to friends, but it’s not something to necessarily care about.

Gentler moments like ‘New to It’ are enjoyable, with its almost catchy drum beat. But it feels disconcerting to blink and to have missed a track entirely; ‘Obey Me’ clocks in at one minute 42 seconds, and with that kind of brevity is utterly unmemorable preceding ‘Heave’, despite its swirls and ethereal vocals.

It’s hard to criticise what are obviously very deliberate choices from Gauntlet Hair, but ‘Stills’ is too short an album to leave an impact. At only half an hour, it tries to do too much and yet achieves very little at all. If it was trying to make a statement, it’s been lost in the 80s haze and gloomy pop.

Oh, but back to ‘Heave’, which is one of the better tracks on the album. Andy’s vocals take a turn for the screechy, as does just about everything else. It’s rockier, and feels far more sure of itself. It’s a shame tracks like ‘Heave’ and single ‘Bad Apple’ don’t crop up more on ‘Stills’. That said, the record closers on a higher note, with the angry ‘Waste Your Art’.

‘Stills’ is the musical equivalent of the sun disappearing behind a cloud for a brief moment; it gives you a chance to look up at the sky, but you’re still glad to get the sun back.