EP Review: Whatever You Say

Phat Krunk sounds like the name of an artist that you would expect something more in line with the electronic genres. Instead, Phat Krunk are an alt-rock four-piece hailing from Wellington. The EP starts with the upbeat track All That You Are, which vibes much like INXS in the days of Switch with new vocalist JD Fortune. A solid rock track, with very clear vocals. Undeniably the strongest song on the EP, and a solid starting track.

Following into The Freeze Up, the energy of the EP slows down in an R.E.M meets country music combination (accentuated with some slow soulful harmonica pieces). The breathy vocal style works really well with this more reserved grace in the track. Unlike most alt-rock bands that try to introduce as many unique variables into their songs, Phat Krunk display much more maturity in their song composition, making use of silence and understanding reducing the inputs can actually increase the emotional outputs from the vocals.

Third track on the album, Killers to Be, increases the pace in line with the opening track, and is reminiscent of early Matchbox Twenty. The pace of the track and rolling vocals have a natural rhythm that gets the head nodding away, and a solo with bends that sound irritatingly familiar (irritating in that I can’t figure out where I’ve heard that ben progression before; from a Jet or Airbourne song perhaps).

Closing the EP is final track Heart On A Leash, debatably the funkiest track on the release. Phat Krunk clearly have some great guitarists on board, and multiple members with great voices, which is even rarer. While there are potentially a lot of influences and comparisons that their music could be given to other large international acts, the Whatever You Say EP is undeniably original. It just happens to share many structures and chord progressions that hook in the listener. There is an innate talent to recognizing the aspects that make a song memorable, and another talent entirely incorporating it into your own original music. Despite the unorthodox name, there’s a definite polished mainstream sound that will do them well once they break into the mainstream airwaves.

_{Review written by Alex Moulton}