Thomas Giles- Velcro Kid Review

Thomas Giles- Velcro Kid

After a seriously strong run of critically acclaimed Progressive Metal albums under his parent band “Between The Buried And Me” since the turn of the decade, And three solo albums in the past five years under the formal name Thomas Giles. It comes as no surprise that the first impression the album artwork invokes is another step towards his more electronic deviations.

His first album under the title Thomas Giles (Pulse 2011) was the sound of an artist trying to paint new images with different strokes. It showed us that the front man is just as capable of producing slower, contemporary sounds capes without completely veering from the dramatic and varied experimentation which captivated the public’s eye in Between The Buried And Me’s early days. It also showed us just how eclectic the musician’s armoury of personal skills can be utilising elements of industrial and folk as well.

2014’s Modern Noise, Saw his metal and folk influence take a backseat in favour of Retro-Synth sequences and buzz saw keyboard leads. And put bluntly Velcro Kid follows in exactly the same trajectory. The Album opens up with “Immersion Highway” which eases the listener in with a dreamy space like lead and proceeds into a pumping syncopated Synthesiser and drum pattern that one can be forgiven for describing as Muse crossed with the Dr Who theme tune.

Anyone who enjoys flicking through the late night TV guide ready to hit the record button on Cult Sci-Fi and Horror movies, Because they love the soundtrack as much as the movie itself are in for a treat on this album. It is saturated in sinister analogue warmth and digital glitches, But to give the album added dynamic flow Tommy Giles Rogers has carefully selected special guests to sing on the albums livelier upbeat pop tracks.

“Devotion” featuring Jake Troth takes centre spot on the biggest pop influenced track on the album. The track kicks in with a similar tone not to dissimilar to the theme tune from “Stranger Things” but with deep hot blooded vocals that are more reminiscent of cynical 80’s bands such as Depeche Mode and Jesus And Mary Chain. Devin Townsend makes an appearance on “Gazer” a track that sounds like Kraftwerk merged with some of Townsend’s earlier solo work most notably “Ki”

The album plays like a science fiction journey, whilst the first few tracks are more prominently filled with minimalist Soundscapes we gradually hear orchestral ensembles introduced hitting their volumetric peak around the midway point, giving the album a sense of galactic foreboding doom much like a dystopian Sci-Fi movie.

For some the lack of Metal and folk influences can be seen as a negative but for the progressive minded individual. Thomas Giles shows us once again why his immersive and diligent approach for crafting high quality songs no matter how genre bending, Puts him up there as one of modern experimental music’s top laureate’s.

By Ben Harris