First listen: Robocobra Quartet play hard to get with ‘Blue Sky Sinking’

Fusing post-hardcore, jazz and the spoken-word, Belfast crew Robocobra Quartet (a quartet in name only, sometimes) have made for a delightfully, wilfully difficult musical experience over the past few years, headed up by spitting, howling drummer-vocalist Chris Ryan.

The critical acclaim that debut album ‘Music for All Occasions‘ was met with put a spotlight on the outfit, and set them on their way to SXSW, Brilliant Corners Festival of Jazz (UK) and Into The Great Wide Open (Netherlands), as well as intermittent UK and continental touring.

So, how does a difficult band do a difficult second album? Easy. More of everything. ‘Plays Hard to Get’ releases next month, and from what we’ve heard so far, Ryan and collaborators have placed focus on the extremes of their sound, filling the space with which they would have played prior with swelling, snarling saxophones, distortion and even choral vocals.

All of which makes new single ‘Blue Sky Sinking’ even more of a swerve, a semi-dreamy marriage of reverby tones and deft yet subdued rhythm, affording Ryan the opportunity to ruminate further on the nature of the end, evoking images of a glaring, seething sun.

‘Plays Hard to Get’ is available for pre-order on vinyl and digital formats from Robocobra Quartet’s Bandcamp. Announcements on a July tour of Ireland are due shortly via the band.