EP Review: Skull Pocket

In a much earlier review that I did for another artist, which had included a remixed Fanfickk track, I was taken aback by the vocals. Wonderfully off-kilter delivery, coupled with a luscious range and tone, that voice, Fanfickk’s voice, was quite simply stunning. As such, I was somewhat surprised to discover that her most recent EP, entitled Skull Pocket, is only sparsely punctuated by vocals. It was a somewhat risky move, but one that I think ultimately paid off for her.

The resulting EP is as wonderfully eclectic as its name. Darting between near-ambience, pseudo-industrial-pop, retro-inspired dance, and the ever-present deep, heavy, bass, Skull Pocket is a diverse collection of 5 tracks that, despite their differences, maintain a common overall sound or ethos. Indeed, Skull Pocket feels less like a random collection of songs, and more of a coherent statement of artistic endeavour/vision. However, putting your finger on exactly what it is that makes these tracks ‘feel’ that they belong together is no easy task.

There is a wonderful contrast of light and dark, heavy and light, vocals as centerpiece and vocals as just another instrument throughout. Furthermore, there is intrigue. 54 second track, Idealist (It’s Not TV), is just beginning when it ends so abruptly—a whisper or a hint of a kiss that never quite eventuates—, the EP opener Late Vanilla Boy with its Mandarin-language spoken word vocal delivery — dropping us into a familiar world which we just can’t quite understand—, and the sonic sludge of (one of my personal highlights of this EP) Sun Damage — which contrasts sweet, ethereal vocals with waves of distorted bass.

A fascinatingly diverse, yet coherent, electropop/dance EP that fans of artists such as FKA Twigs, the more downbeat side of Flume, Fragile/With Teeth-era Nine Inch Nails, and Minuit etc. will find appealing!