Not since the post-Britpop heyday of British guitar music has the door been so widely open for new guitar bands to break through. With their eponymous debut EP, up and coming garage-rock Bad Sidekick have shown that they firmly have one foot in that door.

The self-titled debut EP from Bad Sidekick is a melting pot of guitar music, a beautiful mix of hard and soft northern tones, giving an oddly psychedelic experience

As we kick into the opening track of the EP, ‘Run Boy’, the strengths of the band are clear for all to see. Powering in with a heavy guitar riff that runs through the duration of the song which complements the jagged nature of the rough northern tones perfectly. This is not to say the band don’t demonstrate their lighter side at times; songs such as ‘Romeo’ provide the listener with beautifully crafted pop-bridges that pay brilliant homage to some of the earlier Arctic Monkeys material.

Songs like ‘Lost Cause’ and ‘If I Were the Devil’ take a more relaxed approach, the voice being the star of the song as opposed to the guitar. This decision to dial down the aggression and allow the voice to shine through makes the listener realise just how powerful it can be in creating a sense of suspense and emotion in their music.

Bad Sidekick’s EP is a real stand out. Showing just how effective guitars can be in creating well-crafted music that will resonate with nearly all who listen to it. It is another gleaming badge for the modern-British guitar scene. Providing a unique blend of hard and soft stylings that all add to create a vaguely psychedelic feel to the EP. With all this said, Bad Sidekick are certainly ones to watch out for.