Thought So...

by John BushThought So... is a bit of a travelogue for Nightmares on Wax, consisting of tracks recorded in locales ranging from Leeds to Ibiza -- and definitely many places in between. Utilizing an intriguing studio named Camper Van Somewhere (as in, "Recorded on the..."), George Evelyn and Robin Taylor-Firth keep their productions painfully sparse, par for the course in the NoW catalog. Sometimes they're a little too sparse, specifically the first few tracks, where listeners might get the feeling they're trapped back in 1996 -- when a naked breakbeat and an occasional effect or sample were the only things necessary for an innovative production. By the time they get to "Bringin It," however, it's clear that Evelyn and Taylor-Firth haven't lost their touch for finding grooves that transcend terms like lazy and achieve superlatives like effortless. There are a few additional moments of greatness ("Moretime" is a clear highlight), but also a few more tracks that may make for great background listening but seem to require altered states to get through while focusing on the music.