A grey overcast sky shadowing a car wreck and rubbish bins does little to dim the glowing, spectral movement that is Windowhead’s newest EP ‘Terrestrials’.
Released on 28th March 2025, this shoe-gaze, post-hardcore band from Brighton do little to shy away from their influences; with an EP directly calling out major themes of toxic masculinity, gun control, unreliable billionaires, and climate defeatism.
Image Credit: Windowhead/EP Cover
Terrestrials opens with their semi-title-track, Ex-Terrestrials, a commentary on the lack of accountability held by the billionaire schmucks affecting our planet with their insane super-villain inventions and cruel exploitation of workers.
Lead vocals scream and yearn their way through poignant lyrics and swirling, dreamy guitar hooks; emulating that same despair and frustration that comes from watching the bourgeoisie fly off into space, away from a corrupted planet.
Lead single Todd, Honey introduces more of those ethereal hooks, bringing a math-rock inspired track to a solid, multi-faceted line-up, which I greatly appreciate as someone newly obsessed with the genre.
Image Credit: Windowhead/’Todd, Honey’
Complex notes battling soothing and reflective lyricism, “But who needs courage when you have a gun?”, “cosplay camouflage” and so many more lines that leave us reeling.
Windowhead’s sound feels reminiscent of the likes of Rites of Spring in the grit and groan of their vocals, as well as Deftones and At the Drive-in with their deeply grounding breakdowns and frustration.
I found the EP to be meditative, misty and reflective. I didn’t quite know where it started and ended – which is a good thing in my book.
Image Credit: Windowhead
It has repeatability without gnawing your ears off, and each re-listen gives you another insight into the band’s sound or lyrics you maybe didn’t pick up on the first time – similar to how you will never read the same poem the same way again.
The frustration felt in these tracks is an all too familiar feeling recently. Locally, nationally and worldwide, the forces of evil are unrelenting, and it all feels rather fantastical in nature.
Shoegaze is the optimal genre to tackle this; to make uncomfortable topics and conversations into these demanding yet caressing soundscapes – and with Terrestrials, an EP inspired by video games, politics and direct focus on community effort to dismantle these forces of evil – I can imagine a live performance of these songs only further proves that point.
Image Credit: Ajit Dutta @ajitaartist / Windowhead
To celebrate their release, Windowhead played The Bees Mouth in Brighton on 6th April, and I can only hope this signals the potential for shows further north, perhaps in the likes of our beloved Sneaky Pete’s in Edinburgh.
Terrestrials is now available across multiple streaming platforms. You can keep up with the band on their Instagram, @windowhead.band
Featured Image Credit: Windowhead Band
