An intriguing introduction to the Manchester band’s trippy psych rock with a crazed punk edge
Ahmed & The Romans are an Egyptian-Italian four-piece formed out of Manchester. Given the name of this debut EP and some of the song titles here, I was expecting some heavy-handed political messaging, but that’s not at all what you get. More than anything the title just seems like a bit of a pisstake, as any potential deeper meanings gets buried under a wild cacophony of noise (maybe you can read some political point into that if you really want to).
What’s impressive is just how many forms that noise takes. Starting with stabs of Gang of Four-esque guitars, there’s a definite post-punk influence, particularly on the first couple of tracks. But this isn’t just another revival. It’s almost as if there’s a space rock band lurking in the shadows, slowly weaving their way in. On longest track, News & Media, they briefly take centre stage detouring into an eastern psych breakdown before the track explodes back into fast-paced fury. On Social Etiquette, trippy Southern Rock collides with Sabbath-style doom riffs. And the EP closes with scuzzy post-punk stomper, Animal Control.
This is all punctuated by the crazed howls and growls of Ahmed himself, reminiscent of Iggy Pop when he hits that classic guttural “oooh”. The lyrics are barely decipherable at times and when you can make them out, they’re slightly unhinged – “I’m hot, like a dead dog, a dead dog on the road” – but they glue things together; short, sharp refrains providing unlikely hooks.
There’s some intricate work going on here as they cycle through rock sub-genres, but it feels raw rather than refined, like a rough & ready live recording. Crammed into 16 minutes, this is psych experimentation delivered with punk/garage rock ferocity.
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The EP is available to stream now in most of the usual places. And you can check out the Bandcamp link below for physical purchase options via Sour Grapes Records.
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