A Camera Wanders All Night by Manchester post-punkers Document is as strong a debut EP as you’re ever likely to find. Released in 2020, the EP is the most recent music produced by the band, but hopefully not the last.
Document have a knack for fusing all things great about post-punk. They create music that is unsettling, violent, and relentless – they’re nothing short of brutal. In fact, the band’s bio states that they seek to “evoke the noir, paranoid imagery captured within the spirit of early post-punk, Document’s violent stage performance is a vessel for observational, character-driven lyricism.”
Opening track “The Spy Who Came In From The Cold”, with its punchy drums and isolated guitar, captures the Document ethos in sound. With frontman Alex Evans’ spoken and screamed vocals, the song develops as we proceed, with the guitar becoming distorted in a show of erratic confusion.
“The World Until Yesterday” begins with a crescendo as we’re given a front-row seat to the end of the world through the eyes of a child; “Society ruined from what’s reforming, What’s unfolding” howls Evans. If this track wasn’t confronting enough, “Pity” and its unapologetic lean further into punk surely is. Borderline noise rock, the bass heightens the character’s near nihilist view of the world to the obliterated end.
A Camera Wanders All Night reaches its peak on the fourth track, “Uncle Sam’s Daughter”. Taking an unexpected turn into the romantic – albeit darkly – the instruments remain heavy as Evans’ vocals find sentimentality. “I’ve been dreaming of a suburban life for you and I, Where we prеtend everything is alright” he sings so intently that you almost want everything to work out.
Closing track “American Heat” is perhaps the most simple on the EP. That’s not to say it’s not a fitting finish, especially given that the lyrics focus on various injustices. It’s just a tad predictable; a song with potential resigned to post-punk standard.
A Camera Wanders All Night is an EP full of promise. If these five tracks were to shift onto an album it would instantly ensure its legacy, such is the strength of each individual song. However, as this remains the most recent Document music, we may be waiting some time for that album to arrive.
More on Document
You can find more information on Document over on their Bandcamp and Instagram accounts, although they’ve been inactive for some time…
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