Hey Colossus, like another London band I reviewed recently, Necro Deathmort, adopt various metal tropes while being closer in ethos to other kinds of music. On the latter’s Colonial Script, heavy guitar tones were a suitably dark means of delivering sinister electronica. In the case of Hey Colossus, metallized riffs are taken up and assembled into a series of psychedelic grooves which are often danceable enough to get played in the kind of hip metropolitan nightclub which I’ve never been to. That said, the album cover might suggest other activities which the band thing you should use their music to accompany.

Cuckoo Live Life Like Cuckoo is a neat and varied album: a mere six tracks, but each one takes a distinct idea and runs with it. As such, it showcases a range of moods and influences without ever feeling confused or rambling. All tracks are minimalist, taking one riff and building around it, and the approach is usually to generate interest by manipulating instrumental textures. This they do pretty effectively, both on subtler tracks like the pulsating trance-like twang of How to tell time with Jesus, or songs like Hot Grave, Leather Lake or Oktave Dokktor which incorporate a definite metal influence. The first of these is particularly good: a primitive stoner-doom hook motors along, accompanied by comically ill-tempered vocals, and really nice quasi-improvised use of the organ in the background. The latter adds both harmonic depth and instrumental intrigue. The second-mentioned channels the sludgy post-rock of Isis or what-have-you, and the third-mentioned is based around a gnarly bass riff which sounds like it could be the introduction to a Crowbar song, but which actually constitutes the bassis for the entire piece. Then there is English Flesh, which is a fuzzy Hawkwind-style jam.

So, an eclectic and eccentric record, which was probably a lot of fun to make, and which is definitely a lot of fun to listen to.