EP Review: S.O.M.M.

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I get the impression that Bailey Wiley is the kind artist who quietly, meticulously hones their craft and affects the kind of upswell, grassroots change that eventually overhauls the industry. A ‘nose to the grindstone’ kind – the type of which you don’t seem to come across so often in this ‘recorded-in-a-bedroom-and-straight-to-soundcloud’ era.

S.O.M.M. (Still On My Mind) is a straight up killer – 8 tracks that manage to perfectly straddle that genre-defying space between fresh and historic. The pop-ish sensibilities, the song structures feel traditional and linear but the phrasing, tone – even aspects of the language and phonetics feel futuristic in a currently graspable way.

Two years in the making, with recording and writing split between Berlin and Auckland (with a veritable, all-star squad of producers) S.O.M.M. opens with Dos Fuegos – a breathy, staccato vocal intro leads into a downtempo beat and more superbly layered vocals that implore the listener to “stay on the line”.

Current single Take It From Me runs second, a similar vibe to the preceding- though a step up in tempo and style.

Wiley’s vocals are amazing – Jumping between a soulful, understated ‘jazz-lounge’ feel one minute and an emotive, grating – almost purposefully dissonant cluster vocal the next. The harmonies and layers in each song are immensely compelling  – and the wordplay and delivery just add extra facets.

The 101 is my pick for the favourite of the collection and features one of the best lines I’ve come across in a while ‘I didn’t make the cut, my problem is I’m interesting enough’.

Slick as hell.