There’s no easing into Hitlist’s debut EP ‘Human Cereal’. It arrives loud, unpredictable, and brimming with the kind of restless energy that feels as though it could spill over at any moment.
Drawing loose inspiration from the wiry punch of Shame and the raw immediacy of Amyl and the Sniffers, Hitlist build something that feels far less contained. The EP jumps between jagged post-punk, groove-heavy rhythms, and flashes of funk or alt-rock, all held together by a sense of controlled chaos. It shouldn’t always work on paper, but in practice, that unpredictability becomes the whole point.
What makes ‘Human Cereal’ land is its personality. There’s humour woven through the frustration, a sense that the band are just as amused by the mess of human behaviour as they are exasperated by it. The songs lean into contradictions; angry but playful, sharp but oddly affectionate. It gives the EP a pulse that feels alive rather than rehearsed.
Sonically, everything is pushed forward with intent. Guitars snap and snarl, basslines bounce with unexpected elasticity, and the drums keep things moving at a pace that rarely lets up. There’s a real sense of momentum here, as if each track is trying to outrun the last. Even when things feel slightly unhinged, there’s a clear instinct guiding the movement.
At times, the sheer variety of ideas threatens to overwhelm, but that sense of overload becomes part of the thrill, and the result is a debut collection that feels immediate, reactive, and genuinely exciting in its refusal to sit still.
‘Human Cereal’ captures the band mid-motion, figuring things out in real time. And that’s exactly why it works. It’s messy, vibrant, and full of life, marking Hitlist as a band with both the energy and the nerve to carve out their own space.