Gallops - Yours Sincerely, Dr. Hardcore

On their debut LP, Wrexham’s Gallops begin from an instrumental math-rock setup, before carrying their sound into more idiosyncratic territories. Like Battles, the quartet underpin their precise, hyperactive fretwork and intricate percussion with a dancefloor sensibility; but although both acts draw upon contemporary electronica, there are some unfamiliar influences and combinations at play here. Lasers, for example, adapts the dance-math blueprint to driving 4/4 techno, before descending into a Sonic Youth-esque fog of melodic feedback.

The avowed influence of acts including Arvo Part and John Carpenter goes some way to explaining Hardcore’s distinctiveness. While the LP lacks the emotional intensity such comparisons suggest – remaining instead within a playful, excitable register – it does have a proggy sense of mystery and theatricality, particularly in the doom-laden synth chords of Hongliday and Skyworth. Ultimately, the results expand math-rock’s possibilities, while avoiding the imaginative cul-de-sac of virtuosity for its own sake. [Sam Wiseman]