Blending electronica with psychedelic spices of the 60’s, trip hop and breakbeat elements with alternative rock and protopunk sequels, Tom Block’s debut album, “Initiation” seems to be a comfortable trip, a borderless experiment of smooth collisions of sounds and vibes. “Playa Nueva” reminded me of Fischer-Z – and The Clash – and that reggae-influenced pop (rock) vibe merged into the pulse of the lo-fi bedroom feeling gives the album’s special taste. If the 80’s were under the sign of “cock-rock”, this is the age of “coach-rock”. It’s time to light up and lay back, eventually dive down.
In a world of constant conflicts, struggles and turbulence, this might be the perfect shelter, an island of break. Chill and relax, Tom Block delivers the soundscape of this imaginary getaway.
This is the debut album of only 20 year old producer and artist Tom Block and he’s mentioned different artist as influences such as Danger Mouse, Beck, Gorillaz, Gnarls Barkley, The Streets, Pixies, Massive Attack, The Clash, The Smiths, Blur, among many others. And even if his songs are quite simple, following the standardand constructions and the sound is minimalist, the result is pretty colorful. His lyrics, as he says, treat themes like the difficulty of spiritual development in the mostly busy & hectic environment of our modern society and often contain apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic imagery.
Being El Mestizo Records first full length release the album was produced on an extremely low budget in Tom Block’s own bedroom by the artist himself. It will be released in all major online music stores worldwide including iTunes and Amazon and the first edition will be limited to only 250 hardcopies. The limited CD version will be priced at £6.99 and will only be available from the official El Mestizo Records website while the downloadable version will be available for FREE for an undefined time from the website & the official Soundcloud channel.
100% underground, 100% DIY, 100% indie in its most positive and creative sense, “Initiation” is a joyful trip, almost 40 minutes of escape from this world into a hidden oasis of vivid colors and sparkling sounds. Worth to dig for it!
Tom Block – Official Site
Tom Block – Official YouTube Channel
Tom Block @ MySpace
Tom Block @ Soundcloud
Tom Block @ Facebook
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cA1T_c_uCM&w=545&h=399]
