Tom Misch is dreaming, soon he'll be realising

Tom Misch

"Reverie EP"

Release date: 15 July 2016

8.5/10

13 July 2016, 10:00 | Written by George Meixner

(Albums)

(Tom Misch)

As the dreamy title suggests, the four tracks on Reverie are super chilled out, so, imagine yourself in your back garden on a sun-lounger with an ice-cream. Mmm, delicious. Mix in an early interest in classical music and later, jazz and hip hop and you’ve got some pretty sweet times ahead.

It's a friends and family affair; Loyle Carner helps out with some of Misch’s rhymes on "Crazy Dream", while his sister Laura plays the sax on the bluesy "Follow". It’s more proof that it's really starting to come together for the South Londoner as he builds towards a debut album. Out The Sea EP and Beat Tape 1 and 2 are still audible as he brings the same collaborative vibe forward here.

His cool vocal is understated and uses his catchy hooks to lull and subdue. Reverie is clearly an attempt to focus on his singing and writing, and good job too. To make a bold comparison, think about when Calvin Harris started back in 2007, a self-starting producer who lends his voice to his work and who was quickly picked up through his online presence. Misch’s music may not be as ‘big’ as Harris’, but he is capable of traveling the same route to success - not that he seems particularly set on superstardom. Having sold out London's considerably sized Village Underground before having a ‘full album’ under his belt, Misch clearly has the support, albeit a slightly longer run-up.

There’s the start of a social message and broader dream to Reverie which shows there is more to come on the writing front, with sentiments like “I wish you’d seen who I could have been” shortly followed by “don’t be afraid of who you want to be” abounding. Elsewhere, “as I wake up from this crazy dream / I hope things remain as they seem” is in a surprisingly upbeat spirit for what, for many, might seem a gloomy summer thus far.

Although brought up on the violin, this EP sees all four tracks arrive fully instrumental for the first time, demonstrating Misch's ambition. It definitely pays off with the string section opening "Watch Me Dance" and his sister’s sax throughout "Follow", but the acoustic guitar is the constant pivot of his groovy, snap-drummed beach sound.

It’s a stepping stone to better things to come, and maybe featuring more on summer ‘Relax’ playlists than in charts, but Reverie seems to deliver exactly what Misch was aiming for.