Tommy In High Fidelity

The big releases keep on rockin on Synthetix.FM and today we have one of the most rockin of all. Tommy's new EP; 'High Fidelity' has just been released and the wait since 'Outer Space Adventurer' from last year feels like both seconds and eons at the same time.

This new EP displays an incredible understanding of what makes Tommy's music Tommy's music. As an artist he has found his style and this five track EP is an ushering in of a new chapter in his musical journey. A chapter full of self awareness and understanding in his sounds, which makes listening to this record akin to a religious experience in how deep it touches the listener and continues to hold them in the palm of Tommy's benevolent hand.





'Tommy's Theme' opens up the doors of heaven in an exultant manner that speaks of grandiose architecture formed at the dawn of time with echoes that reverberate beyond our full comprehension. The music is masterfully engineered with seconds that extend into hours of cascading melodies, rolling over endless cloudscapes, underpinned by the slowly beating heart of gargantuan percussion. The experience is so overpowering details are barely audible in the presence of such immense power but they all resonate deeply on new levels of conscious enlightenment.

The enormity of the opening salvo fades behind the horizon and 'Test Drive' begins. Tommy's own brand of high octane OutRun begins to accelerate into the distance with the drive of millions of horsepower. The smoothness and clarity of Tommy's melodies are contrasted against stentorian percussion with a gliding weightlessness. Like a chariot in the sky drawn by a million terrestrially bound horses galloping at full speed across a rain lashed desert, the gods are at play with forces we humans can only imagine.

The mid point of 'High Fidelity' brings about one of the single most illuminating experiences I've ever had in my life listening to music. Fabricated from the essence of the purest melody Higher & Further (featuring Perturbator) is the innate definition of musical exhilaration and aural delight. Every single second of Higher & Further is of monumental importance. Every breath of wind, every fading note, every sustained chord is a divine experience in the awesome power of music. This composition is something that perches itself on the edge of infinity and reigns it's jubilation down upon us like a sun casts a shadow, effortlessly and with an unequivocally colossal presence. It touches deeply with an honesty and warmth of the highest calibre and I feel inexorably linked in spirit to it's harmonious soul.

After this soul drenching rapture Tommy returns the earthly realms of fast paced OutRun with the EP's title track. Drama takes a back seat this time around with the mood being full of positivity and promise. Perhaps it's due it's placement in the tracklisting but 'High Fidelity' feels like the  consequences of enlightenment from 'Higher & Further' have resulted in a high speed celebration of power and melody. It glows with a radiance of light and omnipotent strength, devoid of the darkness of the night, but instead travels at warp speed into glorious new dimensions.

'The City The Never Sleeps' completes this EP and brings in lengthening shadows across Tommy's newly discovered world. Hypnotising percussion is juxtaposed by melodies that struggle to hold their forms against the city's machinelike rhythms. Forgotten souls cry out amid the concrete behemoths, longing to feel the sun warm them from their grey urban prisons. There is a concept of hope laced through the experience, but it's a delicate hope that must be fostered to survive.

After fully taking in this EP I still find it hard to put into words how deeply some of the music here has effected me. I feel like I've known tracks like 'Higher & Further' my entire life but only now have I been allowed to experience them in full consciousness. In saying this I can't recommend this release from Tommy enough as it is so enriching and deep that I defy anyone to remain untouched by it's enormous presence and intimate brilliance. This is a Synthetix Reference Experience of the highest order.

Girlfriend Records presents Tommy's  High Fidelity EP on their Bandcamp page here and as far as this person is concerned you can't pick it up soon enough, every minute you have without this experience in your mind, heart and soul is another minute you remain unenlightened to the true magic of Tommy.