Welcome to the world of Gallops. I first heard this band back in 2007 through my job on BBC Introducing in Wales. We played them a few times on the show. It was right about the time when Foals were getting massive and all I could think was, why have they picked such an equine related name? They both had this half math, half indie sound. Why align yourself like that?

Pressing play on the debut EP from the Wrexham 4 piece it’s clear I had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. The past few years have seen the guys work and work at their sound, honing and shaping every inch until it forms something that warrants more than lazy comparisons. Their music is far closer to Battles than Foals, but with a futuristic sneer. There’s a little Errors glitch in the mix, but this is very much 23 minutes of original ideas.

Live, they’re a prospect to be reckoned with. Just the sight of Dave Morait pounding the shit out of his cymbals at this year’s Reading Festival was enough to stop several hundred in their tracks as the boys pulled the biggest crowd of the day on the BBC Introducing Stage. On record they somehow manage to keep the same force, but they also channel it into a slightly slicker flow. There’s space to think as the instruments chug and dart about each other and the bleeps and lines fly through and straight out again.

Aside from the high production my main praise of the EP is for the construction of the songs. Riffs and sounds are never overplayed. As soon as one groove has settled, it’s changed up for the next idea. The song writing is fluid in that it never feels forced. There’s no chance for boredom. There’s no time for repetition. This is what the future sounds like.

Gallops are one of the most exciting bands in the UK. About bloody time too.