Based in Burlington, Ontario, Wooly Mantis is a powerful progressive rock outfit led by two driven musicians. Taking influence from legendary rock groups of the 60’s and 70’s, adding textures of jazz harmony to craft a delicate but heavy hitting, unique sound, Wooly Mantis is able to create a sonic landscape where the stories told by singer and guitarist Daniel Walton come to life. Joined by Walton is drummer and vocalist Matthew Woodcroft, whose playing and arranging take the songs to new heights.
Wooly Mantis’ debut project, The Cosmic Venture (due out this May), is a collection of songs written by Walton and Woodcroft that are designed to not only challenge the listener, but also create a space for imagination and emotion to flow effortlessly through them. With help from Nik Hirst on electric piano, organ and synthesizer, along with the ambient, effected guitar playing of David Joyner, the EP has an ethereal sound that will surely take the listener to far away places.
Today Glide is excited to premiere “Move Through Me”, the first single from the EP. Written by frontman Daniel Walton, the song focuses in on dealing with loss in a healthy, and constructive way. Walton sings about a safe place far beyond reality that he has constructed with his imagination; a place where the listener can find beauty all around them and connect with those who have transcended into the unknown. The song is a percolating soundscape of lush instrumental textures that shows off the band’s penchant for writing sprawling, psychedelic compositions. One of the coolest parts of the songs is that during the first two minutes it feels like a slow ballad, but then suddenly switches gears and drops into a funky, trippy bridge that brings to mind acts like Umphrey’s McGee and the Bright Light Social Hour. It’s the band’s ability to mix sweeping, poignant vocals and proggy instrumentation with a jammier, looser sound.Â
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