Haybaby – Blood Harvest EP

Brooklyn based band Haybaby released their debut album, Sleepy Kids, on Tiny Engines in 2015.  This New York trio clearly have no time to waste as they’ve swiftly followed up their acclaimed debut with the Blood Harvest EP. It opens with Stupid, this is a slow burning introduction that features a breathless vocal carried on a bass line that Kim Deal would have been proud of, this contrasts with a wonderful treble laced guitar riff that bleeds into Joke/Rope. Whilst this is a more uptempo number it unexpectedly takes you into much much darker territory with a twisted chorus of “all I can see is the joke or the rope” and features an impressively unsettling intricate bass line. Kramer/Dreams returns to the familiar ground of another heavily Pixies influenced track with a haunting vocal delivery.

 

The first three tracks, whilst all fine songs in their own right, are all in the same vein and I start to be concerned that Haybaby may be something of a one trick pony. Those fears were allayed within the first crashing chords of  What It Is, this track suddenly alters the tone of Blood Harvest completely, the inclusion of this frantic noisy sub two minute screamer brings a wonderully noisy contrast to the dark melodies of the opening trio of songs. The EP then closes with pounding relentless distorted sludge of Pig.

 

It’s clear from listening to this that Haybaby owe a distinct debt to the likes of Dinosaur Jnr. and Pixies, but that’s not to say that they are in any way a clone of those esteemed bands, this is a band intent on establishing their own identity whilst acknowledging their debt to those who came before them. This is an impressive and varied release that indicates that Haybaby are something of a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, athough for the life of me I can’t figure out which side of this band is the evil one.