Desert-Rock has never sounded as seductive as Kobadelta’s new EP, ‘Remain Distracted’. It exists in a strange but impressive world between Queens Of The Stone Age and Arctic Monkeys, combining coolly-delivered vocals with searing guitars and brutal drumming. If Arctic Monkeys are “a heavy metal band disguised as an indie band“, then Kobadelta are definitely in the same boat.

Opening track ‘Siam’ sets the scene well, beginning with a hypnotising guitar line that soon erupts into the volcanic mass of energy that the track closes as. The effortlessly cool vocals that first entice you in remain, but the instrumentation picks up intensity and this is what keeps you along for the ride. This sense of rising and falling continues into second track ‘Repetition’, except this time with two clearly defined segments.

This is how the EP generally feels and flows. It’s all about the balancing act between cool, reserved sections that suddenly explode into a closing crescendo. This is done to different degrees, with ‘They Can’t Hurt Me’ never reaching the same level of detonation as following track (and EP closer) ‘The Heretic’, a volatile balls-out rock track.

While this is a good approach to take to songwriting, it does come at a bit of a cost. Here we have four songs, all constructed similarly, that take full advantage of the rise and fall structure. What we really need, to make the EP a little less predictable, is a song taken fully to one extreme or the other – either a completely slow and steady song, or an all-out energetic rocker. What we get, otherwise, is an EP that risks becoming a little repetitive.

No matter, ‘Remain Distracted’ is still a great release that showcases at band comfortable with their craft. But with a little variation in song structure, this EP could be so much more.

The EP is released September 26, and is available for preorder here. You can also stream second track ‘Repetition’ below, and download it for free from Soundcloud itself. What more could you want?

7/10