Hailing from Wellington, New Zealand, Gnarling formed in mid-2025, bringing together seasoned musicians from Lizard Prom, Into Orbit and Opium Eater. Their debut single, Animal, was written a decade ago by band member Tyley for Lizard Prom but never saw the light of day.
Animal moves between doom, noise rock and post-hardcore, with overdriven guitars, heavy riffs and corrosive distortion that recalls the darkness of Chelsea Wolfe. Over a heavy, almost mechanical beat, the tension keeps building until it erupts into an instrumental explosion, with a suffocating density reminiscent of Battle of Mice. Tyley’s vocals shift from fragile melodies and near-whispers to raw, piercing screams that break through just as the band crank it up, in the vein of Julie Christmas.
The lyrics put us inside the mind of someone possessive and controlling. The obsessive repetition of mine and the insistence on having the right to take whatever they want paint a picture of possession where consent simply doesn’t exist. Some passages sound almost sweet, but the words speak of intimidation, abuse of power and dehumanisation. The narrator claims to be free, but only at the expense of everyone else’s freedom.
The DIY, psychedelic video was shot entirely from under a coffee table in Tyley’s living room. That floor-level view, as though someone were hiding and watching, adds to the song’s unsettling feel. A great start for Gnarling.
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