Shotgun Strategy is the musical brainchild of Los Angeles musician Wren Islas who says “i like to make weird music with my guitar and my computer” and what they make is absolutely amazing.
Islas contributes to a variety of musical projects and this appears to be the debut self titled E.P. for Shotgun Strategy.
Lead off track “God Loves You, O.K.” channels all kinds of styles and genres into a song that’s less than two minutes long. You’ll hear aspects of screaming emo/punk in the vein of Cap’n Jazz alongside parts that remind me of The Minutemen and early Meat Puppets.
A driving guitar based instrumental called “Chromatic Aberration” is up next followed by a lo-fi rock number titled “It Only Takes Like Ten Years To Kill Yourself”. The tracks distant vocals work well with the songs octave guitar riffs and catchy leads and create a sonic landscape that’s a good balance between chaotic and melodic.
“Arpeggio Sketch” blends guitars and video game synth tones together in a great way while “Biology Class” is an aggressive piece that brings back a lot of the math rock aspects of the first song but with an extra layer of frantic mayhem to go with it. The vocals also range from sung to slightly screamed to full on yelling and it all fits together perfectly.
Overall this is an exciting debut that showcases a truly talented musician who’s music feels incredible honest and real in every way.
