Review: Tregenza – 'Wolves'

TREGENZA 

'Wolves' 

SELF-RELEASED 

A mere seven months on from his first post-Goteki solo outing, Ross Tregenza returns with the follow-up EP, 'Wolves'. His previous outing, 'Snowdrift', showed off a diverse range of styles that retained some of the playfulness of the Goteki back-catalogue but seriously built on the indie rock and blues influences that were becoming apparent in the later material. And its hear that 'Wolves' picks up from predecessor.

The title track 'Wolves' made a brief appearance in an instrumental form at the end of the previous EP and immediately stood out with it's bleak atmosphere that evoked the likes of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, as well as The Sisters Of Mercy. Throw in Tregenza's distinctive android-like vocal style and it creates a very haunting song. The first remix of the title track is chopped up and glitchy affair that transforms melodies into rhythms and completely turns the track on its head. Where as the second, 'Speed Of Light', remix takes the song into more familiar dance territory with a markedly upbeat feel and combination of vocoded feminine vocals. The third remix, 'Speed Of Dark' gets a bit more experimental, retaining core elements of the song, but overlaying them with strange sounds and samples. Finally there is another instrumental preview of the next EP in the form of 'Christ The Redeemer' has an electronic-orchestral feel which creates a wonderfully blend of pop-orientated dance with neoclassical ambience.

It's nice to hear Tregenza continue to acknowledge his previous projects but still continue to move away from them, playing around with other genres and styles to great effect. With another EP announced for the end of the year he looks like he won't be stopping any time soon, but it will still be interesting to see how he ties everything into a full-length album.

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