Com Truise continues his sci-fi saga with energetic third EP Silicon Tare

The EP forms the third part of his sci-fi concept, following the odyssey of the character Com Truise — the world’s first synthetic astronaut — which began with the debut record Galactic Melt back in 2011 (although second release In Decay was not included in this narrative, being more of a compilation of older material and rarities). At the end of 2014’s Wave 1 EP the space-age explorer reaches a simulacrum of planet Earth and makes contact with its native Wave 1 colony. Things complicate though, as we are told: "He falls in love; there is a war coming. A story that began in hope and dreams of discovery ends on an uncertain note. Change is in the air.” Silicon Tare continues from here, and forms the prelude to the next full-length, which is intended to conclude the saga.

Of course, this narrative is in Haley’s head — well, there’s no Daft Punk Interstella 5555-esque visual accompaniment — so the less cosmologically imaginative listeners will need to just go with him a little bit on this one. Musically it’s classic Com Truise, proving itself again to be a quintessential sonic paean to 1980s digital art with what he calls his “mid-fi synth wave, slow-motion funk”.

It’s a little more energetic than previous material though, which has tended to be more paced with its classic 4/4 kick drum ever-present, and with a lot going on at once it makes for a more interesting listen. “Forgive”, for instance, is relentlessly kinetic with its 80’s techno style offbeat-heavy rhythm. “Diffraction”, which dropped in February as the lead single, is as effervescent as a Berocca in a San Pellegrino. A personal highlight though is the EP’s self-titled track, where the relationship between the low, bass-thuds and the glistening high notes are at their most entangled and emotive.

Historically, the Com Truise EPs have generally been more warmly received than his full-lengths, which in some ways is natural given that Haley sticks within a heavily stylised form of music. In the same way that, albeit seemingly paradoxically, a short-story can give more room to experiment than in a novel, brevity can be a blessing for Haley and Silicon Tare has given him room to deviate — if only slightly. It’s a very strong release, energetic and intense, and promises a high-octane finale.