“Twisted preparations for the drink he ordered you.“
With their arrival only coming two years ago in late 2021, G.R.I.M is the second EP from Lincolnshire band Moskito with the first, Bad Love// Mixtape, having been released in January of this year. G.R.I.M is a collection of gritty and abrasive sounds, interspersed with some great melodies harking back to the likes of AM era Arctic Monkeys and certainly reminiscent in parts of Kaiser Chiefs with a healthy injection of punk. Fronted by brothers Jake and Will Rudd, the quintet have already enjoyed a solid backing see themselves on a variety of tours.
“Killing Joke” gets things under way with a bassline not dissimilar to Marilyn Manson’s Beautiful People, before adopting an upfront marching rhythm across the board. As the above would suggest, it’s heavily bass driven with good use of distortion at the correct moments to add texture and depth. It almost feels like a tirade, and I can picture it in a Guy Ritchie film just before the fight kicks off.
“Loser” is similarly simple stylistically to its predecessor but make no mistake, this doesn’t dampen the impact of the track in any way shape or form. What Moskito have managed to do so well with this EP is fuse the core elements of both the indie and punk genres without trying to be too clever about it. By keeping things clean and simple they’ve created a very solid sound without causing conflict within their music or creating confusion through attempting to be too ‘different’.
“Bottom Feeder” is stripped back by comparison, giving the opportunity for the rich tone of vocalist Jake Rudd to really shine through, with some excellent harmonies through the bridge also. Guitarists Joe Desmond and Sam Beck support the melody perfectly giving rise and fall to the track and maintaining a groove element. With two brief solos thrown in for good measure, this one is a chance for the stellar musicianship of the quintet to really come to the fore.
“Clinomania” is without doubt the moody moment of this collection, with opening lyrics “you should’ve killed me darling” the sentiment is clear and the frenetic pace of this one only solidifies the emotions it stirs. A down-tuned riff was a fantastic choice to impress that further and I must commend them for incorporating this so successfully, alongside other typically metal elements, to broaden the reach and appeal here.
“Thrill Seeker” was released as a single back in September and rounds off the five-strong listing of G.R.I.M. It’s by far the heaviest track and the ethos behind it is utterly evident. As stated by bassist Will Rudd ‘it is a villainous tale of woe and deceit, showing the life of an unhinged, volatile yet cunning criminal, with a twisted mind like a worn out car’. I don’t think I can add much more to that to sum up the impact of “Thrill Seeker“. It’s a brilliant piece of work and is the perfect culmination to show Moskito’s skill when it comes to blending their foremost genres.
When such ‘prolific’ genres are merged it risks becoming a mess, a wall of sound that sounds like everyone is playing whatever they like with no thought given to how it’s going to sound at the end. G.R.I.M could not offset that risk more if Moskito tried. By pulling on the most key elements of each genre what they have created here is a clean slick sound with unexpected grooves and borderline break downs thrown in for good measure. As someone who generally steers away from punk and indie music, I was more than surprised to find how much I enjoyed this record. It’s clever and unique in approach primarily for the fact it’s simple and unapologetic.
8/10
G.R.I.M. is out this coming Friday via self-release.