Maybe its just because I’ve spent so much time listening to Burial and Boards of Canada, but the first couple of times I listened to Manchester’s Tom Holmes’ new EP – out now on Cut – I was always surprised at how light and airy it seemed. It is clear though that making something as muscular as those sounds is not really Sigmafly’ M.O on this release, with Holmes obviously interested in creating something more ethereal, gentle and melodic, with more in common with label-mate Essáy.
With layers of chimes, piano, vocal samples and echoing percussion, the opening 1-2 of ‘And We Begin With Colour’ and ‘Similar Self’ are indicative of the EP as a whole – extremely clean, visual and emotive music created for headphone listening. With a stuttering beat and beautifully muffled vocals, highlight ‘Radio Sleep’ is the closest Holmes gets to ‘groovy’. It is the longest song on the EP and not surprisingly it is the most comfortable Holmes sounds throughout, allowing him to add acoustic guitar to his already powerful arsenal.
While a compelling EP, an inevitable LP will hopefully allow Holmes to stretch out and perhaps broaden his palette somewhat. The EP comes with two bonus remixes – the highlight of which is a club-oriented Everlone remix of Monochrome, which is an interesting inclusion that could perhaps hint at a future direction for Sigmafly.
Tetrachome by Sigmafly is available online now for a price of your choosing.
Wyatt Lawton-Masi
