- A promising producer continues his evolution.
- Ashley Thomas' music has shown promising signs for a good few years now, channeling the bass music dictum that originality beats all. I'd personally got the feeling from his releases for Keysound and Dext Recordings, though, that his sound was in development, or on the cusp of a breakthrough. That seemed to arrive last year with a strong 12-inch, Dioxide, for Dext, as well as "Actress," his contribution to a compilation EP on InterGraded. Novel ideas had never been a problem for Thomas but they weren't always compellingly executed—"Actress," a Hessle Audio-style roller with a distinctive vocal loop, had both in spades. Thomas now returns to Midland and Chris Gold's InterGraded label for a full EP, which continues his evolution.
Wetlands is an EP that improves as it goes. There's no question that "Wetlands," the A1, uses ambitious materials—most obviously a nagging chime lead—but it's a track that seems poised to arrive somewhere interesting but never quite makes it. "Clairvoyant" doesn't necessarily make significant changes to its arrangement either, but the hopeful, spiralling synth line at its centre is enough to shape an emotional eight minutes. The B-side continues in this vein, but the more upfront rhythms and drums really make things pop. This is especially true on "Gravel," its killer breakdown showing how powerfully the drums match with the light-drenched melodies. It's slightly less dramatic but the breakdown on "Whole Wide Worlds" also works a treat, as do the strange found sounds in the background, a vocal sample whose destiny seems intertwined with the shuddering drums.
TracklistA1 Wetlands
A2 Clairvoyant
B1 Gravel
B2 Whole Wide Worlds