I went to a whisky tasting festival over the weekend. I arrived as a whisky novice and left as a whisky receptacle. I learnt a lot about whisky – mainly that I don’t want to drink whisky again for a while.

It turns out that too much of a good thing can sometimes be detrimental to one’s health. Who would have thought? Not Gallops, at least, who find joy in cramming as many different sounds into one song as they can.

Gallops – Sonderhof by ITCManchester

There is always a lingering feeling that when a band’s songs leap around, it’s an act of stylistic-device-hopping to cover other more important deficiencies – but Gallops prove to be the exception.

Songs like Sonderhof positively revel in musical experimentation and foraging; doubling back, burrowing down and seeking new angles to attack the song from within. As such, none of their exploration is for its own sake, rather, it becomes a raison d’etre, providing the songs with their own jagged structure.

The result is a song that stands on its own merits as a great song, but also one in which the listener can get lost over and over again, marvelling as Gallops fit more experimentalism into one song as most bands manage over a whole career. Excellent.

NB: Eagle-eyed readers will note that Gallops have appeared, albeit briefly, on ANBAD before: I rarely re-cover old ground, but felt they merited it in the circumstances.

myspace.com/thegallopsband

Gallops are appearing at In The City on Wednesday 13th October