“Oral Habit deal in what they call “the ear-rattling psychic dream of choked-up acid punks”, a sound that feels overpowering, explosive and intense: you could say it’s more closely aligned to the disoriented racket of mid-60s freakbeat than the pie-eyed beatitudes of the Summer of Love; equally you could suggest it’s a very contemporary form of psychedelia, rebooted for the troubled, disturbing climate of 2025. Initially a home recording project of frontman Charlie Hales now expanded into a trio with the addition of his brother Felix on drums, and Tippi Lewis on bass, Oral Habit’s recent EP Garage Frock! offers four short, sharp bursts that expand on the sound of its predecessor, Cardiovascular Spectacular, throwing up an impressively bloody and chaotic melange of guitar fuzz, echo-drenched vocals, feedback-drenched solos and primitive riffs that feels as if it was recorded with everything turned up to full volume, including the mellotron that decorates I’m Free. Even the one track that initially presents as a ballad, The Coast, eventually gives way to a crushing, sludgy grind. As statements of intent go, it’s impressively full-on, as is Charlie’s explanation of the band’s sonic philosophy: “if a button’s there, it’s there to be pushed.”

\- Alexis Petridis

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