Ask anyone in Glasgow or Edinburgh to name a band north of Inverness and you’ll be hard pushed to find someone who can answer that question.
Well allow me to introduce too you Cactus&Cardigan, a post rock outfit nestled up in the reclusive and isolated town of Thurso.
Made up of drummer Jack Macphee, bassist Marc Sutherland and frontman/guitarist Peter Bacon the band have already played some impressive support slots including The Fire & I and Freeze The Atlantic and with a previous EP release behind them, that featured songs such as ‘George Michael Cums Cobwebs’ and ‘Smegma’, it makes their most recent release Highland Bastards a exciting listening prospect.
Opener ‘…The Dead Shall Walk the Earth’ doesn’t do introductions and throws you straight into the high-octane guitar work of Bacon and the driving force of a double kick groove.
This intro is potted with staccato’d guitar chords that do well to sharpen the edges on a already aggressive beginning, it’s also within these first few bars that we can hear the excellent production present on this EP that was seen on earlier release ‘Gag Reflex’.
A break into another section shows the first, of many, finely crafted riffs that are something that Cactus&Cardigan are masters of.
With alternations between these two sections with a hint of variation to keep things fresh, we find ourselves on a back to basics breakdown; as cliché as these are they are still a joy to behold when pulled off masterfully and Cactus&Cardigan know all to well how to pull this off.
The bouncing bassline and rolling snare plunges you into a glorious breakdown that sounds similar to Red Fang with its loose and fast style.
The ‘Liver Kicker’ fuzzy bassline is the first audible greeting before a math-esque section of alternating screams, the track lets up ever so slightly in a section before the chorus that’s simple in construction but works as its greatest asset.
A minimal drum beat and guitar riff act as a successful vehicle for Bacon’s vocal line “I am the Liver Kicker” to have a surprisingly catchy hook.
‘Explosions Implosions’ takes on a more sombre and slower pace, the track interludes us with an instrumental section before a dynamic change throwing us into the most raw and aggressive part of the song.
The tracks instrumental section is one of the few quiet parts on the EP, a nice blend of harmonies between all parts, but it isn’t before long there is a sudden shift the outro that proves to be the strongest part of the song.
With recent revelations that the environment is becoming increasingly toxic and that the sea level is guaranteed to rise 10 feet it would seem we are not being loud or aggressive enough with our message, well the next track ‘Neon Suplex’ hopes to change this.
By all comparisons it is a modest introduction compared to their other records, but it isn’t long before we are shown the real Cactus&Cardigan.
Easily the best part of this of this track is a complete change in rhythm best described as a surf rock riff that’s on bath salts, it shows that Cactus&Cardigan are not just a one trick pony.
Possibly the most aggressive song of the EP, ‘80-20’, is about Peter Bacon’s love of meat; a small interlude plunges into the duelling screams of Bacon and Sutherland accompanied by a fittingly meaty riff.
The title track starts with a catchy bassline that looks to promise a lot, like most tracks on this EP the introduction isn’t a soft one but this soon leads into a catchy melody with a massive hook, but easily the highlight is Bacon’s choice of words: ”we are the highland bastards/live next to a nuclear reactor/four hands, six legs”.
With a strong verse of interweaving guitar sweeps ‘Highland Bastards’ looks to make a memorable impression but what truly makes the track the flagship of this EP is the outro, as a drop speed guitar steeps into the darkest crevices of Cactus&Cardigan’s imaginations before the breakdown develops into a guitar solo, and a rather impressive one for that matter, that descends into the raw and macabre riffs that form the sudden end to the EP.
Highland Bastards certainly represents bang for your buck, it’s an incredible release that shows one of the leading lights of the Scottish rock/metal scene.
If Cactus&Cardigan were based in a city there would no doubt be in the top tiers of the rock echelons, in saying this with this recent release and a tour underway the band look to make enough noise that ears in the centre belt are turning their heads northwards.
HIGHLAND BASTARDS by Cactus&Cardigan
Words: Euan Coe
