SINGLE REVIEW: FatStalker - My Friend Westwood
FatStalker don’t take themselves too seriously, but their music speaks for itself—loud, spiky, and dripping with character. Hailing from Manchester, they sit somewhere between grunge, punk, and post-punk, blending angular melodies with a rugged, no-frills attitude. Their latest track, 'My Friend Westwood', is as eccentric as it is infectious—an offbeat, storytelling-driven song that follows a lost army private battling his inner demons in the depths of South America, inspired by a tabletop RPG character.
From the outset, the track lurches forward with a jagged, swirling rhythm, driven by howling guitars and an irresistibly thick, grinding bassline. The drums feel slightly off-kilter yet completely dynamic, adding to the song’s unpredictability. FatStalker have a knack for crafting melodies that feel rough around the edges but still shimmer with a certain artistic flair—there’s a grimy, sludgy quality to their sound, yet it never feels weighed down. Instead, it’s enticing, unapologetic, and brimming with attitude.
The raw, rugged vocals sit right at the heart of it all, balancing a gritty intensity with just enough glamour to keep things intriguing. Towards the end of the track, it takes on a psychedelic vibe, creating a transcendent feeling of falling through a kaleidoscope of bright, vivid colours before the pace ramps back up into an exhilarating, reverb-soaked instrumental outro. Before passing into a dreamlike state to end, spiky guitars hypnotise into the fade, leaving behind a sense of eerie, lingering unease.
There’s a distinctiveness to FatStalker’s approach—it’s a little dirty, a little chaotic, but undeniably engaging. With 'My Friend Westwood', they deliver something that feels both unpolished and oddly refined, making for a track that refuses to be ignored.
