Better Lovers - God Made Me An Animal (EP) - Transparent Red w/ Black Splatter Vinyl

Four songs, about a quarter of an hour, and not a second of fat. Better Lovers’ debut EP, God Made Me An Animal, landed out of nowhere on 28 June 2023 via SharpTone Records, and it still feels like a controlled detonation. The line-up is a dream for anyone who came up on jagged, high-velocity hardcore. Greg Puciato at the mic, Jordan Buckley on guitar with that wild-man flair, Stephen Micciche locking down the low end, Clayton “Goose” Holyoak careening around the kit, and producer-guitarist Will Putney shaping the whole thing with his usual, punishing clarity. They tracked it at Putney’s Graphic Nature Audio, and you can hear that room in the instruments, the crash and squeal sitting right where it should.

“Sacrificial Participant” kicks the door in immediately. It folds mathy riffing into a sprint that shifts gears without ever losing that pit-starting momentum. Puciato sounds feral one second and laser focused the next, a trick he honed in The Dillinger Escape Plan but now bent toward something more anthemic and less alien. Buckley’s phrasing is chaos that somehow lands on its feet. Holyoak’s snare sounds like a cracked whip, and Micciche rides the pocket with the patience of someone who knows when to let the guitars own the room.

“30 Under 13” was the first taste earlier in April, and it still slaps the hardest on first pass. The riff is a Cody-and-Jordan kind of stomp, except this is Jordan pushing against a fresh wall, with Putney layering the guitars so the edges bite. There is a hook in there, buried under feedback and barked cadence, which is where this band really shines. They remember that hardcore should be fun. You can hear that in the way the chorus opens up just enough to shout along. It is no surprise it became the fan favourite quickly, with coverage everywhere from Kerrang! to Revolver treating the project like a big deal. They were right.

“Become So Small” rolls in as the lightest shade on the EP, but it is not soft. It’s tensile. Puciato lets some melody through, the guitars smear into something almost pretty, and the rhythm section leans back just a touch. That contrast is a neat trick across these four songs. The band keep their teeth bared, yet they know when to show restraint, and Putney gives the cymbals air while keeping the guitars thick as tar. It is the kind of track that makes you want to spin the side again just to hear how the choruses bloom.

Closer “The Flowering” is the most cinematic. It starts with a slow surge, then crests into a triumphant tangle of riffs. The pacing recalls late-period Every Time I Die grandeur but with a new chemistry. No nostalgia act here, just players who know how to swing from whiplash to catharsis without losing the thread. The final minute feels like a curtain call, a quick bow, then lights up before you can say encore.

As a mission statement, God Made Me An Animal works a treat. The backstory writes itself, sure, but the songs matter more than the pedigree. You can hear a band here, not a stitched-together supergroup. The writing feels rapid and alive, and the production refuses to sand off the splinters. On a good system, the kick drum caves your chest in and the bass rattles the windows, yet the vocals sit clear, which makes the EP a tidy showpiece if you are hunting Better Lovers vinyl. The pressing carries solid heft, and several colour variants have done the rounds, so if you want God Made Me An Animal vinyl there are options through SharpTone and indie shops.

If you trawl for vinyl records Australia wide, this is the kind of title that disappears fast, the sort of EP you spot behind the counter at a Melbourne record store with one copy left and a little staff-pick card. It is perfect quick-fire listening, and it also scratches that itch for collectors. You could easily buy Better Lovers records online right now, add it to a cart with a few chaos-adjacent classics, and call it a good mail day. If you are building a shelf of Better Lovers albums on vinyl from day one, this is where the spine starts.

Most debuts promise. This one delivers. It does not over-explain itself or overstay its welcome. It just rips, grins, and leaves. Put it on, flip it back, and put it on again. Then go catch them live and see how much bigger these four songs feel with a room shouting back.