By admin
I first watched Tom Forbes play live a long while back, when it was just himself on a guitar. Years later Tom Forbes has released his brand new E.P ‘LIMBO’ – an eclectic sonic exploration, from the distorted tones of the single ‘Turpentine’ through to the contemporary, synth-heavy ‘Alpha Male’. At first it seemed silly to provide a review of an EP with so many tricks and turns throughout, as it would be a shame to ruin the surprises, but ‘LIMBO’ is something that has to be shared.
If anything, ‘LIMBO EP’ proves that Tom Forbes is being stretched in all directions through his musical influences, but manages to mould these influences into something quite…well, Tom Forbes I suppose.
The first track taken from ‘LIMBO’ is titled ‘Turpentine’ which begins with a striking guitar riff, a definite nod to Nirvana, a huge influence of Tom’s. From falsetto driven verses, to rousing choruses and to a swishing reverberated guitar solo, ‘Turpentine’ perfectly binds together Tom’s capable songwriting abilities, flair for production and his rock/pop influences. Perhaps one thing people will think listening to this track is that Tom would surely struggle to pull off all the instrumentation live, but you’d be very surprised.
Track two brings with it a superbly contemporary feel by combining bouncing synths with futuristic guitar tones. On a closer listen there are subtle counter melodies and acoustic guitar ripples which all add to the final result – something that Justin Timberlake could convincingly cover in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge. For me, the highlight of the entire EP is the woozy half-time break which transforms ‘Alpha Male’ from a worthy pop song to a pop journey.
Three tracks in and Tom Forbes proves why he is definitely one to watch. ‘Stay For Alice’ begins with speaking voices, making way for rumbling synths and a beat with serious groove. Whilst I feel the song itself is not as strong as ‘Turpentine’, ‘Stay For Alice’ is definitely the best proof going that Tom is able to wonder into new musical territory with such ease; by this I mean there is a Drum & Bass outro, and yes it’s fantastic!
Tom wraps up the four track ‘LIMBO EP’ with ‘Addiction In The Art Of Telling Lies’. This song sees him stripping back the production to his acoustic beginnings, with complete emphasis on the songwriting. For sure, this is the best written song Tom has to his collection; every chord and every word has a purpose. Tom shows great lyricism is the chorus with “You know you give me something I can’t afford to lose.”
Normally I conclude a review with a point of constructive criticism, but I’d be scraping the barrel to come up with an issue. ‘LIMBO’ is out now and it’s definitely worth the listen.
Also worth the mention is some accompanying music videos, including a video for ‘Turpentine’.
‘LIMBO EP’ is available now on amazon, and further information can be found at www.tomforbes.co.uk.
