Local trio Philoceraptor are showing a new, more rhythmic side of their garage-rock selves on their new EP, The Deepest V. The first track, “Hey Champion,” is driven by an intricate beat from drummer Phil Jette, allowing the band’s two guitarists—Justin Penney and Steve Mann—to take a breather. This works surprisingly well for a band that’s known for being more brash than balanced.
The new three-song EP can be downloaded for free from their Bandcamp site. Actually, “EP” might be a bit of a misnomer, as the release has has only one new song (“Hey Champion”) paired with a remaster of the previously-released track “PYT” and a remix of “Hey Champion” by locals Oh No! Yoko. The remix’s dance-floor beat and cut-up vocals make it sound like a whole new song, however.
The only really troubling part of the new dance-rock sound is the lack of bass. Of course they can do without the instrument—Japandroids and the Black Keys, for example, have done just fine without it, but both those bands fill the bass frequency with a huge guitar sound. Philoceraptor don’t really do that, and it’s never been more noticeable than now.
The lead track is easily worth the price of admission, so head over to their site and have a listen. And if you like it, their onstage energy can be experienced at CiTR’s SHiNDiG on October 18.