When I stumbled upon TreyShawn there were no releases by the Canadian. There were however a lot of snippets and ideas. Lingering between the instrumental hiphop I got to know of Nosaj Thing and the more distinctive sound of a drag act such as Fostercare. After a week or two and a brief inquiry the Shimmer EP was put out.
One of the first things I liked about this EP is the way it creeps up on its listener. It starts out well with Trey showcasing his sound. I’m Just Thinking is a decent opener with its energized loops. Second track Eyes has a slower pace and enables a more atmospheric touch. This is carried further by Pink Smoke. The track serves as an interlude while gently rocking its listener towards the more darker sounds. Walkinwater takes over more assertively and holds that typical newbreed witch house sound. The atmosphere is nearly liquid as it flows out of the speakers.
Then You Don’t Care I Know drops. This the EP’s standout track due to the meticulous build-up of the earlier tracks. As it combines a solid pace with a strong atmosphere, it sets the tone wonderfully. This works out best in the second minute when both come together well. Make Your Way follows excellently, holding onto the success of the previous track, but also restoring the initial energy from I’m Just Thinking. Thus keeping the momentum and not letting the EP solely lean on one track. Shim is a fleeting track, lasting more than a mere minute. It sets up Mer by draining the atmosphere and replacing it with a more bleak sound. Finally Mer wraps the EP up by concluding with a more ambient feel as the last beats cascade in the background.
TreyShawn‘s first EP is an excellent hybrid of beats and suspense, which works out well. Downside is its length as it merely spans a little below 18 minutes. This leaves you hungry for more. Still it’s unclear where he’ll end up next as he appears eager to explore more facets.
Edit: After the initial release of Shimmer, TreyShawn changed his EP quite a bit. In both line-up as feel. However as this review was written in the light of the old version, it will remain as it is.
You can download the new version of the Shimmer EP at Bandcamp or preview it here:
In order to complete the tracklist of the first version, you can listen to I’m Just Thinking here, which is also known as Sampling 6:
Posted on March 25, 2012
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