Because Why Not? is a very apt name for the debut EP from Worcestershire mathrock duo A Werewolf! The entire record is a whistle-stop tour through genres and musical styles to complicated rhythms with crazy, crazy film quotes thrown in. I’d like to say that if you’ve got a record in front of you with a song called ‘Chop Yourself Off at the Knees and Pretend You’re Tom Cruise’, you kind of know what you’re getting into but with Because Why Not?, you totally don’t. And that is not a bad thing at all.

The record starts off intense. ‘Hellbent on Duck Slaughter’ is the mathiest track of them all, and if you’re not into crazy riffs bordering on the wrong side of jazz, then this will probably put you off for life. However, listen closely and you’ll find that there’s an incredibly full sound coming from these guys, despite the fact that they’re a duo. It’s all completely instrumental, and in most cases, this works. In tracks like ‘Come At Me Bro’, which are less complex, vocals are missed somewhat, but that punk edge instils a great sense of fun anyway.

Where A Werewolf! truly shine though is in their more post-rock sounding tunes – ‘Psycho Scientist vs Super Massive Giant Swan’ and ‘Sanka Ya Dead?’ both feature jangly guitars and incredibly tight drums with a more laidback feel than the rest of the record – slowing down slightly truly enables their talent to shine through. However, they’re still highly exciting when they’re playing more frenetic stuff – ‘I Have To Return Some Videotapes’ effortlessly mixes funk and metal with those complex time signatures with awe-inspiring effect. It’s probably not the kind of stuff you’d just stick on in the background, and nor should it be – Because Why Not? deserves to be dissected and digested and to be appreciated fully.

Because Why Not? is ambitious and it’s completely mental, but most of all, it’s great fun. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but if you’re willing to try something a little different, you’ll have struck gold with A Werewolf!

4 out of 5 high fives!