Throwing Snow - Mosaic

Whether it’s the manner of samples or the skittish rhythmical conversations; at its core, Mosaic feels very much like an early-Warp release. However, there are distinct recurring themes which make this record an unusual one. I think that this may well be the most pompous, fanfare-blurting experimental electronic release that I’ve heard in years; it makes Hype Williams sound like Leonard Cohen. The Jassy Grez collaboration,‘The Void’ could have been sounding out to function room full of gurning, sweaty twenty-somethings in late-nineties France.

My favourite moments of this Throwing Snow debut coincide with the pieces hinged on organic development and instrumentation. The erratic acoustic guitar which is prominent on “Pathfinder” helps to establish an air of unpredictability; this is mimicked throughout in the use of unusual percussion and spiralling motifs. If only more of the elements on Mosaic were of a similar nature - the guest vocalists, synthesisers – it would’ve made for a more unique listen.

Considering that Ross Tones whittled ninety songs down to eleven for a record which is pumped full of collaborations, it’s no wonder that the collection is a little fragmented. One of the real positives on Mosaic is that there are clear divides in the material, and he’s aware of that. Tones strives for variation “because people get bored, they don’t want to hear the same track regurgitated thousands of times”, but with this territory comes problems. When he tries too hard to quench the thirst for conventionally formed pop songs; “Maera”, “As You Fall”, the record suffers. For the time being, Tones is quite clearly far more proficient in creating challenging material than dealing with the delicate margins of pop. Take away those songs and it’s not even like the record sounds imbalanced. However, I doubt he’d have been invited back to Maida Vale for another session anytime soon had he not tried to crowbar in the more “radio-friendly” jaunts.

In fact, it’s a shame that we often can’t escape context and, due to the volume of watered-down, pop numbers on Mosaic, this record will be tarnished with the same post-xx brush that a lot of mainstream crossover electronic bands are marred with. As I’ve already mentioned, this record is at its most encapsulating when it strolls as far away from the middle of the road: “Linguis”, or take from “All The Lights” to the end of the record as a complete movement, and it is wholly fulfilling. “Saltare” is Throwing Snow at his most introspective and poised. He lures you into a false sense of security with its familiar, bombastic nature but only for the elongated, behind the beat pulses feel like a sudden dagger in the kidneys. There’s something enthralling about the lack of control you have as a listener here, which you’ll seldom find on many records this year.

Throughout the album, Tones manages to illustrate just why people are so excited about what he has to offer but without fully realising the potential of Mosaic as a collection. “When you write and listen to so much music, all day every day, in a way, you spiral out of control. But that’s something that I’ve kind of embraced” – maybe in this instance Tones had too much choice, forcing him to neglect this as a piece of art. There are no question marks next to ambition here but rather a general air of confusion in the artistic make-up of the songs that makes Mosaic a slightly frustrating listen.