Wozniak - Auster EP
- Written by Marky Edison
Auster is the second EP from Edinburgh shoegazers, Wozniak. Formed in 2012 with a mission to cause “terminal tinnitus”, this was made to be played loud. Live, their predominantly instrumental tunes have the ferocity of an industrial metal band. The rhythm section dominates and lends weight to the sound which the guitars swirl around.
It’s a different story in the studio, where the balance is shifted and the results are more Explosions In The Sky or Mogwai than Killing Joke, and more like their stated influences; Chapterhouse, Ride, The Cure, and Slowdive.
Named after the co-founder of Apple Computers, Wozniak have had a busy start to 2015. Their last EP, Pikes Peak, was released last year after a Kickstarter campaign. It has garnered them international attention from shoegazers in the US and Japan, as well as shows in London and Dublin.
Auster sounds like a continuation of Pikes Peak. The two releases could be siblings; the bastard sons of My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth. Both EPs were recorded in the same studio with Craig Ross of Broken Records, and it’s evident that Wozniak have found their voice.
The bass anchors each number while wave after wave of electric guitar rises to the fore. Competing hooks and melodies bubble to the surface before the riptide once again pulls them under. ‘Gospel of Infinity’ threatens to burst into pure guitar pop but can’t break through the torrent of reverb. Opening track ‘Snow Effect’ features a vocal track, from Sarah Cuthbert- Kerr, submerged within the oppressive vortex of fuzzed-out guitar.
There are elements of post-rock, math-rock and other indie instrumental sub-genres throughout. Cuthbert-Kerr saysL “When we first got together we were planning on more of a straightforward post-rock sound… walls of sound, lots of reverb, prominent bass lines and submerged vocals... It’s definitely about the wall of sound. It’s got to be layered, fuzzy and gorgeous, and above all, loud.” Auster ticks all those boxes.