Now that it's a hassle to go to the hairdresser's and cold enough to get that lumberjack shirt out of the closet, it's also a good time to (re)discover these guys.

Tithonus is no newcomer to the rock scene. The band started more than a decade ago as a two-headed noise rock band, consisting of cronies Ben Overlaet (guitar, vocals) and Jan Van Woensel (drums). After Ben's brother Dave joined on bass a few years later their sound began to lean towards alternative rock. When Van Woensel left he got replaced by Tim Jamée. In this line-up they recorded the album Safe.

Three years later Jamée disappeared and Van Woensel picked up where he left. An untitled record followed in 2016, after which Van Woensel started looking elsewhere. The return of Jamée shows that blood creeps where it can't go: after three other drummers he came back and the band recorded this ep.

They mix all good things of rock: grunge, noise rock and nineties indie rock are all present in this four track ep, good for twenty minutes waving your hair. And the more Overlaet yells “Stay away from me” in Stay, the closer we press this trio to the rock heart. This track has a tension that many big bands would be jealous of.

It's on this track that the three pull the grunge card the most, though they do so too in the more than six minutes long, staccato sung closer The Unfortunate Existence of Mr. D. that after three minutes nicely derails into a weird soundscape.

If you prefer noise rock we especially recommend opener Disappear and the second track, Insane. In the first there is a lot of feedback on the guitar. Jaimée is literally letting off steam and Overlaet sounds less like the Kurt Cobain from Antwerp. Insane, on the other hand, has both restrained and screaming passages, but especially the moments when the guitar sounds like a circular saw will please the fans.

Thanks to this ep we know what to wish for in 2022: more Tithonus.

Marc Alenus, daMusic