An Alien Dispute

Lakker’s Containing A Thousand EP has the ability to make you feel small. The short EP plays like a four-act cosmic drama. The opening title track is like a sneak attack. All of the elements take their place. A war cry sounds as the tempo and intensity builds, everything goes quiet, and then the beat drops. The bass and mids come out from their hiding places covered in camouflage paint, twigs and leaves sticking out of their Rambo headbands as they storm the unsuspecting. The assault only lasts a few moments, but when it all goes quiet again, there’s a feeling that there have been some serious devastation.

The following track, “Mausoleum,” walks the listener through the rubble and broken glass. The melody is relentless, like an air raid siren. Among all this destruction the steady and industrial beat driving toward rebuilding and revenge. “K’antu” takes the listener into the devastated war room. The counterattack is being meticulously planned. “K’antu” has more tribal beat than the other tracks and is the most upbeat. The plan is just about foolproof. Success is all but guaranteed.

Finally in “Thermohaline,” the warring tribes meet and fight it out. Elements similar to those in “Containing A Thousand” and “K’antu” are pitted against each other, tumbling through space, each trying to better the other. When it fades to black, it’s unsure who’s won, if anyone has.

In Lakker’s debut EP, the Irish duo have put together a delightfully cinematic sound. Their sound has the ability to consume listeners and bring them into their world. Containing A Thousand is short but expansive, intense but tender, and when it’s all over, it feels like you’ve survived something epic.