Butch Kassidy – ‘Ascend/ Like Fire’ EP review: a blisteringly euphoric debut
Four years on from their debut single, ‘Heath’, Butch Kassidy have stepped into darker territory with their EP Ascend / Like Fire, three tracks that toe the line between post-rock and droning ambience – meditative and rewarding.
The Skinny: A lot of bands would be afraid to emerge with the kinds of tracks that Butch Kassidy have placed on their debut EP, but the five-piece know what they’re doing. Here are three haunting tracks that instantly draw you into a world of chaos; there’s beauty where there is intensity, anxiety melding with euphoria as songs build into exhilarating, cinematic scenes of greatness.
While you can hear the influence of the likes of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Sunn O))), Butch Kassidy creates their own slightly terrifying world on Ascend / Like Fire, sometimes moving further towards electronic experimentation and other times centring the piercing volume of their guitars, almost ear-shatteringly loud. You can only dream of seeing the final track, ‘Hyena’, played in its 15-minute entirety, which is surely a heavenly experience (albeit one that will require earplugs).
It’s a contrast from the opening sounds of ‘Ascend’, where strings accompany much gentler guitars, slowly rising and forming across six and a half minutes. Each song on the EP seamlessly melds into one another, allowing the final explosion of ‘Hyena’ to feel almost rapturous. There’s real emotional pull to this record, which allows textural collages – buoyed by the quickening and slowing of rhythm – to convey feelings of despair, anticipation, excitement, and everything in between.
Ascend / Like Fire feels malleable. As the lyrics fade into a deeply layered sonic palette, often unintelligible, you feel called to do with these tracks what you like.
Perhaps listening to the EP will feel cathartic and borderline orgasmic to some – the building climaxes, reached with pummeling drums and jolting guitars, creating a heavenly sensation – for others, it will feel like an aural encapsulation of pure anxiety and unease.
The Verdict: With their debut EP, Butch Kassidy have made a loud and unavoidable entrance, highlighting the emotional potential to be found in gritty textures and push/pull dynamics. The louder you play this, the better.
Defining Track: ‘Hyena’
Release date: November 25th, 2025 | Label: Polished Stone
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