Live Review: Tooms Releases 'Simple Tactics' EP

Melbourne music wizard Sam Gill has built quite the name for himself. Known under the name of KIRA as well as half of Naysayer & Gilsun, he is also the man behind yet another project - TOOMS. Housing great depth and mystique, Tooms has just released a brand new EP.

Titled Simple Tactics, the EP fashions a sound that speaks for the Tooms name and practice quite appropriately. Known as Gill's late night, "can't sleep" project, the artist explores different techniques within a moody, electronic play field that has resulted in five experimental tracks, sure to leave an emotional mark on the listener's experience.

Tooms' Simple Tactics is full of strength, power and electricity, and is evident right from the very start with the opening track, 'Cop'. Entering with a chuffing echo, the track progresses with a fuzzy percussive element raining down onto broken vocal samples, a collection of wooden beats hitting each other's bodies and an electronic texture that may as well be a digitised didgeridoo.

Following this promising start is 'Break Lullaby' - a track fitted with quite a relevant title. Softly chanting a reoccurring synth chamber, the tunnelling effect delicately breathes through the song, resonating with a wind channel. Just a step away from harbouring an eerie theme, 'Break Lullaby' sounds more supernatural than anything else. Although employing quite a peaceful soundscape, it acts more as a lullaby for the insomniac; as you can't quite enter a deep slumber as a result of this tune.

Contrasting boisterous activity with the ornate is what 'Pray' is all about. With a rough, looped sample soon overshadowed by a repetitive, feminine vocal, it feels like a juxtaposition is at play. Through the addition of a wholesome melody, sharp samples, synth work and a friendly bass, the two separate ideas initially formed suddenly feel unified. Through this marriage, 'Pray' ventures out in a healthy and positive manner.

'N.D.W.B.N' breaks up Simple Tactics in that it doesn't offer a great amount of instrumentation. With an indecipherable lyric cut and resounded throughout the entirety of the track, it's then challenged by the layering of sister vocals that have received the same treatment. Interrupted by a rambunctious piece that sounds as gritty as heavy machinery, 'N.D.W.B.N' find its roots and sticks to them to conclude the song in a similar way to how it began.

The trembles of a soft beat and temporary vocals open 'Staring Back', the final track of the EP. Elongating moments to leave us on the edge of our seats, Tooms, just as he has throughout the previous four tracks, explores the unconventional structure of a song. With a myriad of sounds and textures in orbit including a metallic melody and what sounds like a broken maraca, 'Staring Back' slips away from us completely unexpectedly; before scarcely returning in a bubbly boil, spitting out tiny hints of the togetherness it once heralded.

Tooms' Simple Tactics EP congregates five forward-thinking tracks full of ideas and emotions, proving the release to be that of a great one. It's available now for a very small price via Bossman Records. Grab your digital copy HERE.

Words by Hannah Galvin.

LISTEN TO MORE NEW MUSIC HERE

SEE ALSO:

SOUNDCLOUD WRAP: NAYSAYER & GILSUN

I'LLS 'MINE'S HERE OR MY END'S HERE OR NINETEEN' (NAYSAYER & GILSUN REMIX)

NAYSAYER & GILSUN 'BLUE' (OFFICIAL VIDEO)