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Quick Hit: Guerraz

Last updated on January 6, 2022

Guerraz‘ Battery E.P. balances torrential and patient in a two-man post-rock game. Opener and title track “Battery” runs a solo guitar riff and variations for a whole minute–much longer than the listener expects–before crashing in with acrobatic drums that punch the song up to the next level. It’s this ability to wait before the big payoff that gives this four-song outing its tension and power.

The guitar here is thick and crunchy, but not so distorted as to turn into a big wall of distortion; there’s a good amount of reverb/phase on the guitar to give thickness to the sound, but not so much that it swallows up the songs. The drums are crisp and tight in their production–they’re particularly excellent in “Eyes,” where they provide almost all the forward motion for the song amid the several single-note sections.

The gently-psychedelic “Hebron” is by turns churning and pensive, dropping almost to nothing around five minutes before ramping up for the big conclusion of the 7-minute piece. Closer “Rafah” gets funky with some syncopated twists to the Guerraz formula, creating some neat groove. Overall, the EP is a solid introduction to the Guerraz sound with some strong tunes to boot.–Stephen Carradini