Bastos / Pandrea – Split

September 24, 2014 • Fading Halo Records

This is a quick split single from two Romanian bands—a country I almost never hear anything from, so it's pretty neat to get a hold of this.

Bastos plays mostly-instrumental math rock that's a bit on the heavier side, like a tamer 65daysofstatic without the electronics. Pandrea is similar, but a bit more grungy-alt-rock with this odd jaunty sort of very-Eastern-European vibe going on under the hood. It's a nice pairing, although I have to say personally Bastos is the more appealing band to me—they both have their charms, though.

Without substantial vocals, there's a bit of a lacking feeling on these tracks. They're definitely off to a great start, but I think to truly come into their own there's a bit more fleshing-out to be done. I won't say adding vocals is definitely the way to go, however.

Either way, this is definitely a neat little split with two bands that are worth checking out.