There’s a reason that the early-to-mid 2000s were the golden age of British post-hardcore, given that bands like Hundred Reasons, Reuben, Hell Is For Heroes and loads more were all doing the rounds. And with all those bands pretty much consigned to the history books now, there isn’t the same sort of scene within the genre. That hasn’t stopped the influx of new talent though – London’s Chapter And Verse have all the same boldness and ballsy intent, as their debut EP ‘The Wolves Back Home’ makes evident.

Though only slight at five tracks long, the four-piece seem to have already established a stable foundation for themselves. This EP acts as the confluence between the aforementioned acts and slightly more angular Stateside bands like Coheed And Cambria and Circa Survive, all wrapped in Josh Carter’s emotive and crucially unique vocals. It gives tracks like ‘Shelf Life’ a welcome crunch and a harder edge compared to other British alt-rock bands.

What’s more, the deft knowledge of dynamics that allows a band like this to really fly is present in spades here. ‘Electric Tongues’ feels a lot more subdued and smooth even with its backflipping riffs, while conversely, ‘Slave’ absolutely rips with its intricate instrumentation and positively furious vocal inflections. Even with such a diversity, Chapter And Verse still have their own set identity, to avoid flip-flopping around.

And it’s a credit to Chapter And Verse’s skill that, even when we’re neck deep in alt-rock bands at the minute, they’re still able to put something out that’s worth taking notice of. ‘The Wolves Back Home’ represents the very early days of this band, but you can be sure there’s a lot more to come.

3.5/5

‘The Wolves Back Home’ EP by Chapter And Verse is out now.

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Words by Luke Nuttall (@nuttall_luke)