EP Review: Windowhead – Terrestrials (Self Released)

Brighton-based quartet Windowhead releases their EP ‘Terrestrials’ on 28th March 2025. The release combines the energy of post hardcore with the melancholy atmosphere of shoegaze, citing Thrice, Glassjaw, Deftones and Nothing as influences.

Those are some damn fine influences, but it is more heartening to hear that Windowhead have their own sound that is addictively weird. Able to make each and every track ooze with emotion but have a chaotic vibe that gets under the skin.

From the moment it starts, with Ex-Terrestrial and its off-kilter melody that infuses life in the senses, Windowhead will have your attention. Then, from that point onwards, there’s nothing that can break the focus. Not when a track like this transforms in such clever ways. Not only getting more intense from a heavier perspective, but in a melodically powerful way too.

Brighter, more melodic, and more ‘danceable’ (in places), Cat Insulin is one of the EPs more obviously vibrant listens. Yet, even with the hues it creates in the mind, there are touches of darkness, least of all the bursts of guttural vocals that come at the end. It’s also the point where this track becomes messier, but in a purposeful way.

Wacky and wonderful, in so many ways, it’s Todd, Honey and it’s another absolutely unique slice of post hardcore inspired noise, but one that keeps the theatrics down to a less mentally taxing level… up to a point.

Finally, and impressively, it’s the expressive shoegaze infused effort I Had to Reach Out and Grab it Before it Disappeared Forever, an absolute delight of a track. Featuring big and dreamy guitars, emphatic drumming, and vocals that scream and sing with undeniable passion. It’s the most profound listen on the EP, but it only works so well because it is part of a bigger picture, and that picture shows off a more detailed level of experimentation, which, when gazed upon in full, is something most will simply marvel at.

Windowhead – Terrestrials Track Listing:

1. Ex-Terrestrial
2. Cat Insulin
3. Todd, Honey
4. I Had to Reach Out and Grab it Before it Disappeared Forever

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