Wilks - A Soul to Borrow

 Released: October 31

There’s a rather calm overtone to Wilks latest album that is somewhat obscured by the often quick pace of the percussive elements of the album. Each track has this tension between these two factors that never quite abates but keeps a kind of push and pull to each instance. Take “Ameliorate” for example - the drums play out a kind of jungle/DnB inspired rhythm, keeping a low profile in their tone and sounding a bit muted or subdued. But as they play out this rapid fire rhythm, the synths play out a calm and spacey pad with elongated notes that convey a sense of calm passivity as they get swept up in the rhythm. In some ways, tit feels almost like two different songs wonderfully mashed together into a lovely assemblage. And this is really the strength of this album in my opinion. It can easily and beautifully blend together two moods in contextual bliss with tight mixing and a certain preservation of energy. 

Similarly, some of the other tracks tie equally higher and lower energy motifs together skillfully such as the house-inflected “A Soul to Borrow.” This one certainly feels like it leans more heavily on the house elements, giving us energetic rhythms and bouncy bass line. But those ambient synths still show up, this time providing a drone-y backdrop to the more energetic elements. Wilks does a fantastic job of managing the energy throughout the album, leaning heavier into the fast-paced percussive elements on some tracks while emphasizing the ambient harmonies more so in others. “End Song,” the final track on the album, features an energetic house-type beat that carries the track but allows itself to be drowned by the washes of ambient pads for much of it. It gives the track this dreamy vibe that feels like the part where you have to leave the party but the music is still bumping in your brain, 

Overall, it’s a fantastic album that makes the most of the textural explorations in sound. Crisp and forward drums, dreamy ambient synths, and a wealth of unexpected textural additions keep the experimental factor up while grounding the sound in something accessible and easily grasped.