With its detached vocals and cold, precise rhythms, post-punk music is often confrontational. Not a lot of warm fuzzies to be found.
But Sastrugi, the local band fronted by Matt Treadwell, confronts with a little boogie in its boots.
The group’s new EP, “The Somnambulist,” may frighten away casual listeners with its spelling bee-caliber title. (It means “The Sleepwalker.”) Those who do tune will be surprised to find one of the best local releases of 2026 so far.
Recorded over a five-year period by Sam Snyder, “The Somnambulist” spans four exhilarating tracks characterized by tension and release. Preserving the rigid, rhythmic framework of post-punk (and a touch of krautrock), the band actually allows itself more room to explore interesting, occasionally whimsical textures.
The whimsy is less Seussian and more darkly psychedelic, as heard in the funky breakdown of “Doppelgänger.” That funk arrives courtesy of two key components: bassist Benton Sillick, a versatile local talent in the bands Anamon and The Heavy Love Trust; and drummer Andrew Tachine, whose percussion work can be heard on the latest Haim album.
This safety net allows Treadwell to intone his vocals in both stark orations and ominous whispers, as heard on opener “Modern Cowboy.” Treadwell communicates more effectively with his guitar, making it spiky as sandpaper and, near the end of the title track, violent as a knife.
But Sastrugi dedicates most of the EP’s runtime to “Miasma,” a 10-minute exorcism that begins with a strut and ends up lying face down in frigid water. In the tradition of genre forebears like Wire and Television, the band creates a rhythmic carousel then pulls the emergency brake.
It’s hypnotizing, soothing and mysterious, like wind-blown waves in snow. What are those called again? Oh, right — sastrugi.
