REVIEW: Pressed And’s “Hyper Thistle” (EP)
Upon writing a review, I tend to have a habit sometimes of saying that an EP would have been great if it was expanded into an album, and yet I love what an EP offers to the listener, so I’m going to have to try to change that.
Pressed And have released the Hyper Thistle EP (Mush) that shows how they love cramming a wide range of electronic styles, both played and sequenced, while also layering that over a bit of minimalism. You hear the beautiful clutter and that moves me, but what also moves me is what some may ignore, and that’s the engine beneath the hood. This time around, they’re creating the kind of sounds that will please some fans of BVDVD, Jaga Jazzist, and Jazzanova. One could easily hear BVDVD taking “Andross To Ankei” and expanding it by another 15 to 20 minutes as the guitars and keyboard echo bounces back and forth until reaching the horizon to find another guitar and keyboard echo doing the same thing but in a different key or shade. “When She Ran” could easily be expanded into something ten times its length but I like what Pressed And do within their own limitations, as if they’re trying to let people know “we can create pretty electronic melodies built to suit your tastes”, as in popular tastes.
It’s the kind of sensual sounds, both unknown and occasionally familiar, that makes you want to tongue your digital files in order for it to burst. With only five songs, it definitely does make you thirst for more flavors but with one EP done can only mean more music will follow sometime soon.
What do you think?