ninehertz

Demos and early EPs don’t have to be perfect to truly grab you; instead the excitement of hearing a new band, whether local or farflung, who appear to share the same attitude in terms of approach, tone or simply doom (or “heavy noise and psychedelic visions” as Vate put it) feels like you’ve generated a personal attachment.

And so it is with Vate, from Lima in Peru, and their five-track Piensas que eres Eterno. It is flawed – it is loose and sloppy, the bass-led sound wobbles around – but, for one, you quickly appreciate these supposed shortcomings anyway, and they don’t grab the attention, that instead is taken by the obvious spirit of the band.

Hear it on Omuamua, where a stupor of a vocal adds to the drunken sensation by the tottering bass, the song staggering on the balls of its sludge feet, tipping into a stoned stoner rock vibe – so haphazard you can’t help but smile and perhaps love it by its end.

They turn doomier, with evil spirits haunting Vaquero Jurásico, where (as I am unable to decipher the Spanish lyrics) the vocals feel equally like a cry for help or the reading of an ill-intentioned incantation. They go faster towards the end, revving into stoner-punk (of Gluecifer or Zeke perhaps), a fitting state given they’re imprecise approach.

It is raw, which is fine, and jumps around stylistically which is less so, as you never really settle into the EP completely. But it also has an ever-present cool, do what you want vibe, a looseness in ideas and instrumentation which adds to the vibrancy. If nothing else this is a band to keep an ear out for in future.