If you piece together some of my previous POV choices you’ll discover my love affair for bands associated with Dance Gavin Dance guitarist Will Swan and his label Blue Swan Records. His influence prompted the internet to create the sub-genre ‘swancore’ and Wolf & Bear are another exemplary example of the rich, exciting music lurking within this cult-like corner of alternative music.

Wolf & Bear’s progressive post-hardcore is textbook ‘swancore’ and follows a formula very close to Dance Gavin Dance’s own. Harsh vocals add aggression and further chaos to the already free-form guitar licks and busy drums, before making way for soaring, clean vocals that add hooks and superb moments of melody. ‘GreyBlood’ is by no means just a replication of a formula though; Wolf & Bear have a personality all their own and when you dig back into the other tracks they’ve released to date, there’s a startling level of consistent quality.

Despite the incredibly high bar set by their label-mates and peers over the past few years, Wolf & Bear are set to hurdle it when they release their full-length record in the not too distant future.