Those who acquire a USB of The Bastard Shows His True Colours, the debut EP from Leeds band Pornographic Sunset, will find six images included alongside the record’s four tracks. All heavily desaturated almost to the point of monochrome, each of these pictures includes masks that have been cast aside by the band members. No pretences, they seem to say - for the next few minutes, we’ll be baring all.

The Bastard Shows His True Colours is a record of potent, knotted rock. Across these four tracks the quartet of Daniel B, Dave M, Josh H and Roger M weld together strains of hard-rock, glam and Goth to create tracks that are filled with rupture. From the plethora of musical styles that Pornographic Sunset cycle through here to the self-effacing, embattled lyrics, this is honest and unflinching music. In the hands of another group the centre might not hold, but Pornographic Sunset’s command of their craft is such that these tracks are executed with great dexterity, thrilling the listener with their abrupt sonic shifts in a manner that recalls the golden age of System Of A Down.

A desire to create challenging, multi-faceted rock music is not the only similarity between SoaD and Pornographic Sunset. There is also a shared sense of theatre between the two groups, one that runs much deeper than the masks in Pornographic Sunset’s photographs. ‘KarmaCrush’, the opening track of The Bastard Shows His True Colours, kicks the record off with a strutting glam-rock riff, one that immediately recalls the salacious panto of Aladdin Sane-era Bowie. The spectacle heightens as the track goes on - vocals are delivered in the sort of disenfranchised growl that Iggy Pop used to specialise in, and ‘KarmaCrush’ later indulges its lounge-lizard side in its slinky, percussion-led breakdown.

Middle tracks ‘Skin-Tight’ and ‘Immortal’ also keep the listener on their toes. Clattering in on a rollicking surf-rock groove that channels the bug-eyed rockabilly of The Cramps, ‘Skin-Tight’ switches up halfway through, the vocals dropping to a growl while the instrumental morphs into a Gothic metal stomp. It is in the schizophrenic nature of the structure that ‘Skin-Tight’ mirrors its lyrical concerns, those of dual identity and the confusion caused by the loss of a loved one.

Meanwhile ‘Immortal’ shape-shifts even more - beginning as monolithic, Sisters Of Mercy-esque Goth-rock, the track snakes through Jesus Lizard-aping noise and darkside balladry before ending up as a demented playground chant. Pornographic Sunset return to the ballad style on desert-rock closer ‘One Reason To Believe You Were Right’ (PHYSICAL RELEASE EXCLUSIVE), a peyote-hazed number that recalls the more introspective ends of Nine Inch Nails and Pink Floyd while ending with some highly evocative guitar soloing.

The Bastard Shows His True Colours sees Pornographic Sunset announce themselves as a highly ambitious rock group. This is a quartet who aren’t afraid to challenge both the listener and themselves in the quest to make complex, vital work.

RIYL: System Of A Down, Sisters Of Mercy, The Birthday Party, Faith No More, Nine Inch Nails

Tracklist
1. KarmaCrush
2. Skin-Tight
3. Immortal
4. One Reason To Believe You Were Right (PHYSICAL RELEASE EXCLUSIVE)