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Australopithecus

My Purest Heart For You

This is an album that seems relatively easy to assimilate, but it presents as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. There are a lot of mysteries within, and the story goes deeper than just tortured screams over melancholy, solemn music. In many ways, I don’t want to unravel them. I would rather leave them there for the next listener.
September 23, 2025

The band's name is taken from the Japanese anime, "The End of Evangelion." From their Bandcamp page, they have only the following notation: "There it was, the soundtrack to my life, and, for a few seconds, came harmony, finally." This album is their fourth full-length, and it has four songs. "Eyes Like Suns" is first. Although the riff has a hardened backbone of crunchiness to it, and the vocals screech with anger, there are somber melodies afoot. One might think that this unlikely combination might cause a startling reflection for the listener, but they blend together, and smoothly.

"Continental" comes out of the gates with a darker and more aggressive bite, and the vocals fit perfectly here. There isn't a lot of melody in the beginning, but some somber notes gain footing every now and again. After the halfway mark, the madness drops, but the darkness remains, tempered with moment of light. It rides the line from there, dipping into one side and back to the other, before it ends angrily. "Between the Water and the Savanna" has hopeful and warm tones in the music, but the harsh vocals cut against them like razor wire. The two competing styles wrestle deeply with one another, with none gaining ground. The instrumental section around the halfway mark features animated bass notes, and a distinct groove, as it rides out to completion.

The title track closes the album. It refers to a genus of early hominins that existed in Africa during the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. It opens with dark, melancholy tones that sound like the thick fog of early morning. The main riff that drops is thick, but not overly aggressive, and the vocals are more tortured screams. Layers are added, and the fog and tension grow, until they are replaced by screechy guitars. This is an album that seems relatively easy to assimilate, but it presents as a wolf in sheep's clothing. There are a lot of mysteries within, and the story goes deeper than just tortured screams over melancholy, solemn music. In many ways, I don't want to unravel them. I would rather leave them there for the next listener.

8 / 10

Excellent

Songwriting

8

Musicianship

8

Memorability

8

Production

8
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"Australopithecus " Track-listing:

1. Eyes Like Suns

2. Continental

3. Between the Water and the Savanna

4. Australopithecus

 

My Purest Heart For You Lineup:

Gwynevere – Everything

 

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