T_A_M - Local Ghost (2021)

Serene Wood Sound is proud to announce its inaugural release in the shape of ‘Local Ghost’, the second full length album by genre shapeshifter Thomas Emslie A.K.A T_A_M.

Local Ghost sees T_A_M drawing on a wider pool of influence than ever before across it’s 12 tracks. From the degrading ambience of ‘Mill’; Hazy, screwed machine funk of ‘Grump’; lopsided percussive swing of ‘Okker’; hypnotic piano and scattershot drum programming of ‘Mind Like Milky Eyes’ or the swirling electroacoustic dread of ‘Freezing Rain’, this is the sound of Emslie actively trying to pull the components of his past work apart and force them in a variety of uneasy new directions.

Although the music on display here encompasses a variety of tempos and hints at a multitude of musical styles, a constant throughout is a sound palette which threatens to burn up and become engulfed amongst a sea of tape hiss and knackered machinery at any moment. Even as the synths and drum machines become increasingly unstable and smudged, T_A_M’s ever present melodic and rhythmic sensibilities keeps the scene from being lost in the ensuing fog.