Gallops will float over the boundaries of roack at Roadburn 2018
How dare Gallops break up shortly after their amazing 2012 debut Yours Sincerely Dr. Hardcore? Here we are, longing for people to keep pushing at the loose boundaries of rock music, when three gentlemen from Wales come along, happily ignoring that such boundaries even exist, breathing new life into the genre with their thrilling mixture of its most basic components – just guitar, drums, keyboards and plenty of electronics and noise thrown on top – just to have them disappear soon after? No, that would not do at all. They hadn’t even played Roadburn yet!
Fortunately, Gallops returned in 2016. “It just needed a nap,” was how Mark Huckridge, Liam Edwards and Brad Whyte jokingly put it, so we’re very happy and also relieved that someone remembered to set an alarm. It seems the dreams during those few years of napping inactivity were quite vivid too, as 2017‘s Bronze Mystic was a whole new departure, both for the band and for any genre you’d care to drop them into. In short, it’s just as how we’d expect it to be – expecting the unexpected, it’s called.
With the electronics now at the very heart of the compositions, lending them a very kraturock vibe, songs like the vibrant Darkjewel or the ever-shifting Graverobber keep you guessing at every turn, moods fluctuating from eeriness to jubilation, from intimidating darkness to feverish light, but always pulsating and engaging. Apparently guitarist / keyboardist / percussionist Mark Huckridge moving next to a car park was an influence on the sound of the record, so make of that what you will.
Hopefully Gallops won’t be napping again anytime soon, but we decided not to take the risk, and invited them to Roadburn to be on the safe side! We can’t wait to dance and brood and trip out to these songs when April comes along!
Gallops will keep defying the limits of rock music on Friday 20 April at Het Patronaat.
José Carlos Santos / January 2018
