EP Review: Octopedal Rock Unit

Dunedin’s Saurian have just released Octopedal Rock Unit, a five-song collection of rock & roll that’s fun and full of melody, but also ballsy and thunderous. Saurian released the entirely self-produced album Brooding in 2020, having formed in 2015. This latest EP is a slick and punchy follow-up.

Drawing influence from ”Nirvana, The Beatles, Foo Fighters, Guns N’ Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Soundgarden”, Saurian have refined that input into a sound that also made me think of The Angels, The Stooges, and MC5. Drumming that’s tight and solid, perfectly tasty without being unnecessarily flashy. Big fat bass that’s locked in nicely. Guitars with a suitably muscular grunt. Rich, beefy vocals with power for days. The name Octopedal Rock Unit is inspired by the fact that “it takes 8 feet to kick this much ass”, and to be fair, a decent amount of ass gets kicked here.

Wayne Kerr is the opening track, a proud middle-fingered salute to haters of loud guitars. Gets my vote. It also has a new official lyric video which has a fun format. Fra-gee-lay is a raucous lament, telling the all-too-relatable tale of having a parcel damaged by a delivery driver, and includes a guitar solo so very good that it gets an official announcement. Ian Astbury of The Cult came to mind when I heard the third track, Gobstopper, and I love The Cult, so I was pretty stoked with this track. Loads of nice guitar moments in this one too. Get Forked is the shortest track at 1 minute 40 and is a punky riot about forklift operator certification. Nice. Followed by a track that’s positively epic by comparison at 4 minutes 37, Sheep’s Clothing is also the EP’s darkest track, a song of betrayal and caution. It also has an utterly epic guitar solo, fittingly saved to be the final one of the EP.

This is the kind of music that quickly gets a venue pumping. This music will get people dancing, because let’s face it, most people can’t withstand an ass-kicking from 8 feet at the same time. Crank this EP whenever and wherever really good loud rock & roll is required.