The intriguingly titled Dennis Exists is the debut album from Sydney based six piece Greyhound, a mainly instrumental outfit that describe themselves as landscape artists as much as they do musicians. Containing six distinctive and eclectic tracks, it’s initially a hard album to pin down, but it’s this variance in tones and textures that make it such an absorbing listen.
Incorporating influences that range from drone to ambient, from doom to post-rock, Greyhound make music to experience in as much a tactile or visual dimension as sonic. The shimmering, reverb-drenched guitars of ‘Sunna’ bring to mind scorched, rust-coloured landscapes, an endless terrain of heat and mirage, the occasional drum patterns battering down like the unforgiving sun. As the track settles into a repetitive but loose groove, things eventually quieten and give way to the gentle ‘Mani’, whose ebbing and flowing bass lines, sparse guitar lines and tepid acoustic strums recall the 60’s and 70s heyday of prog bands like Pink Floyd. The more upbeat ‘Dennis’ bristles with hurried post-rock urgency as bustling, crashing drums bolster chiming acoustic guitars. The quiet ‘Riverbend’ follows, a spoken word piece, telling a story of drug smuggling, murder and small town corruption. Carried along by a single plaintively picked guitar, this track in particular is dripping in atmosphere and Australian Gothic. ‘Capertee’ features some gorgeously crunchy and emotive guitar work, whilst the epic twelve minute closing track ‘Surfer’s Paradise’ is infused with truly heartbreaking atmospheric passages that roll over gentle drum patterns, creating an expansive soundscape that brings to mind such post-rock heavyweights as Mogwai and Sigur Ros, before climaxing in an awe-inspiring crescendo.
As with all debut albums, Dennis Exists feels like the start of a journey. The musicianship on display here proves Greyhound to be an incredibly promising talent and as a listener you can’t help but wonder which direction they will take next, whether they hone in on one particular sound or broaden the palette further. Either way, Greyhound are certainly a band to keep an eye on.
Dennis Exists will be released digitally on 30th April and is available to buy here.
Words: Adam Pegg
