Pet Therapy // Various Ways to See the Light EP Review

Written by Fred Carlyle

Photo Credit: @sabbyb212

It wasn’t that long ago- about 10 months- when Couchdog had the pleasure of interviewing Naarm’s Latin-American indie folk artist Salvador Peralta who, funnily enough, the couchdog family came into connection with due to his role at the time as the guitarist for Dole Manchild, who we had interviewed just a tad earlier that year. 

So as it turns out, getting Dole Manchild on Couch Dog had unprecedentedly lead to an entire network of exciting bands and talents that we have the pleasure of having on our platform as, aside from his solo career in which we had a delve into last year; our friend Salvador Peralta also plays a pivotal role as the frontman of Naarm’s eccentric, multi-lingual, genre-bending alternative rock outfit, Pet Therapy who, as of yesterday, have just released their latest EP ‘Various Ways to see the light’.  Before we get into ‘Various Ways to see the light’ and what it’s got in store for us; let’s retrace our steps a bit and give you a bit of knowledge about who we’re dealing with here before we go any further.

With Salvador Peralta on vocals, Ella De Nijs on bass, Ethan Sekulovski on guitar, Cleo Tuke on synth and Aidan Laurie-mebalds on drums, we have Pet Therapy. It was back in the springtime of 2023 when Pet Therapy gave themselves an official entry into our city’s underground rock scene with the release of their four-track debut EP ‘White Noise for Dogs’. For someone like myself who discovered this group after first being acquainted with the frontman’s solo work; I was curious to see how Salvador’s swoony-meets-poignancy style of singing and his poetic lyricism would translate into a rocky sound whose audience is expected to be headbanging rather than waltzing.

 And so, as if to immediately answer this curiosity of mine, the first song to come from their debut EP ‘I Like You (I Don’t Like Your Songs)’ is a phenomenal exemplary tune that showcases Pet Therapy’s might and what they’ve got to offer. This track immediately grabs your attention with it’s bursting-out-of-the-door introduction of furiously gritty and moody guitar riffs, relentless drums and subtlety effective bass lines. The way in which the intensity of the instrumentals of this track dip up and down in synchronicity with Salvador’s voice as he transitions from low-to-the-floor crooning to his ignited belting on the chorus not only confirms his ability to slip easily into rock, it also showcases just how brilliant of a chemistry this band has with each other and it immediately tells you that this group aren’t messing around and have no intention of doing a half-assed job of an alt rock project. 

Then, within just over a year’s time, we saw the band put their magic into an LP format with the release of their debut album ‘Music for Meditation’, a nine track album that holds a charm that felt reminiscent of some of the pioneering Indie rock albums from the 2000s such as Bloc Party’s ‘Silent Alarm’ and Interpol’s ‘Turn on the Bright Lights’ as it shares that tone of implicit moodiness and introspective anger that broods under a veneer of punchy, adrenaline inducing guitar riffs, relentless drums and effectively subtle bass lines. To add on to the familiarity of the indie music scene in the 2000s; Pet Therapy’s first two releases also reminds me of the post-punk meets electronica acts of the time such as LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip given Pet Therapy’s lack of hesitation towards incorporating experimentative ambience and quirky synthesisers into their rock foundation. On top of all of this however, Pet Therapy’s first two examples supplied the group with a strong and discerning identity and style as their sound is crisp, unique and easily discernible. One of the many things that adds to their genre-bending title and makes Pet Therapy stand out amongst the crowd as a local rock act is how the band incorporates their latin-american roots and influences into their sound as you’ll often hear interesting combinations within their discography such as classical guitar playing being fused with indie rock or lyrics sung in Spanish over a synthy soundscape.

Now, to mark their arrival into 2025 and to follow the release of their debut album, we’re given today’s topic, ‘Various Ways in Light’, a compelling three-track work that continues to refine the band’s established strengths while also broadening the scopes of their sound and influences as this EP shows the group to be taking experimental directions that leave us wondering what to expect next. 

To greet us through the door, we’re first given the track ‘I wouldn’t Skate’, a 5 minute slow burner of a track that, at first, provides us something that would feel right at home in a James Bond movie. The intro of this track - with its two guitars playing the same repeated chord progression in different notes alongside a reserved combination of a drum kick and  a cymbal crash- immediately sets up an atmosphere that is as charming and seductive as it is disquieting and unsettling. There’s this sly charm established in the song’s beginning that hits you with the gut instinct that there’s something slightly sinister underneath the mask, like as though we’re dealing with whoever Dusty Springfield is talking about in the 60’s track ‘Spooky’. To only accentuate that established eerie and alluring tone is the introduction of the song’s vocals. ‘Sit and watch the papers burn’ is the first lyric to appear which, thanks to Salvador’s addictive vocal style, enters as though the song’s narrative swiftly and gracefully steps out of the shadows to greet us.

There’s a sinuous, serpentine-like structure to this track, it’s as though you never know what waits around the corner when listening to this for the first time. Like water in a pot, left unattended as it boils on the stovetop; you never know when this song’s going to bubble up and overflow as it constantly plays with our anticipation, moving from an introduction of stewing, brooding instrumentals into these spikes of gritty, furious choruses only to gently simmer down again, bringing you into these calm-before-the-storm moment that feel deceivingly sedated and reserved that are ready to burst again at any moment, leaving you in this constant state of exciting suspense and anticipation.  There’s even this intermission in the track feels almost David Lynchian as the lyric ‘Maybe you will fall and land on your wrist’ stands bare by itself and spread out through an entire minute of the track, each word of the song is abundantly overlapped, thus creating haunting, discordant harmony that feels as eerie as it is pretty- it’s a weird, one-man choir that sounds like the singing practice of a choir group you’d overhear through a closed door when walking to class.

Both ‘I Wouldn’t Skate’ and it’s following track ‘No Amends’ provide an experimental song structure given its twists, turns, and overall unpredictable nature. However, while the EP’s first track offers it’s experimental structure in a Slint-style way of being eerie, volatile and suspense-provoking, No Amends offers an unconventional song structure in an expansive mind-opening way that feels reminiscent of the psych rock movement in the 60’s and 70’s with Ultimate Spinach and Cream serving as prime examples. Ethan’s guitar work and Aidan’s drumming on this track have a fantastic chemistry which really add to bringing this track alive; the way in which the solo guitar riffs seem to shoot off from the crashing of a cymbal adds to that trippy psych rock appeal of the song.

After sitting through the accelerated and explosive experience that the two previous tracks threw our way;  the final song of the EP, ‘Red. Red. Red…’ - which was printed to a casette tape before mastering- holds the relaxing comfort of arriving home after a long trip on the road as you’ll notice an immediate shift in tone and energy when ‘No Amends’ fades out and this closing track fades in softly. With an audio that sizzles and cracks like an AM radio station and a backdrop of distant squawking birds and slightly audible mutterings all while Salvador sings soothingly alongside gently plucked guitar strings, an atmosphere is immediately established. Whether or not this atmosphere comforts you however, is up to your interpretation. For me, this song felt like I was revisiting a childhood memory through a dream; there’s a rose tinted essence in this song that clashes with this slight sense that something’s not right which I find is due to the ambiance which seems to lurk behind Salvador’s seemingly innocent singing on the track. 

Listen to 'Various Ways to See the Light' here

Check out Pet Therapy on Instagram here