Thought Bubble – Dark Shapes EP

Nick Raybould is one of those people I always enjoy hearing from, partly because he has excellent timing and partly because he always has new music to share. He consistently reaches out to me way ahead of release date, usually with a new Thought Bubble record tucked under his arm and a gentle nudge in my direction. This time, life got in the way. I have been so busy that I am only getting to Dark Shapes now, which feels slightly ridiculous given that this EP contains, to these ears, the best Thought Bubble song to date. I have written about this band a few times now, and every release seems to arrive with a fresh angle on what Chris Cordwell, Peter Gelf and Nick Raybould can do together. Earlier this year, Who’s To Say felt like Thought Bubble getting some speed up, finding real confidence in this version of the band. Dark Shapes?Well, it just runs.

That is the thing about Thought Bubble. They are prolific, yes, and that can sometimes make you worry that ideas might start arriving faster than they can be shaped. With this lot, the opposite keeps happening. The records feel like they are talking to one another, with each new release picking up a thread from the last one and taking it somewhere slightly stranger. Who’s To Say had that broader, more reflective quality, with songs stretching out and letting modern life, frustration, memory and absurdity seep into the music. This EP sounds like a band levelling up because the writing feels sharper, the grooves hit harder, and the electronic and live elements now feel completely natural together. Thought Bubble have always had ideas. Here, those ideas arrive pinpoint precision.

I am going to call it early. Opening track ‘A Complicated Place’ is the finest thing Thought Bubble have released so far. There. I’ve said it.

It opens with out-there synth work that gets right under the skin in the first few seconds. Bright psychedelic shimmers curling around a rhythm that is just so tight. The beat has real groove to it, but the song still carries that odd Thought Bubble character where everything feels slightly sideways. You can get up and dance to it, you can sit and pick through all the small details, whatever you choose that main hook is taking up residence in your head for the rest of the day. Gelf’s vocal works beautifully here because he does not overplay it. He lets the melody do the work. I kept going back to this one before moving through the rest of the EP, which is always a good sign and a slight problem when you are meant to be reviewing the full thing. For a band that have already put plenty of good stuff out into the world, this one feels like a proper marker.

‘Enemies’ follows with guitarist Shaun Bailey joining Thought Bubble, and it brings a different kind of focus. Where ‘A Complicated Place’ beams out in bright pulses, ‘Enemies’ settles into a moodier groove and gives Gelf’s voice more room to carry the song. There is a poppier shape to it, especially in the way the chorus gives you something firmer to hold on to, but the track still has that steady krautrock movement underneath. What I really like here is the way the lyric seems to take the track somewhere darker while the rhythm keeps moving with a dancefloor in mind. Your foot wants to follow the groove, then the words start needling away at you.

By the time ‘Waiting On The Kill’ arrives, the band sound like they are having a wee grin to themselves. This is the most playful track on Dark Shapes, with an itchy glitchy electronic feel that made me think of an arcade machine developing its own personality after hours. The synth tones are bright and cheeky, the rhythm has a lovely swing and indeed spring in it, uch the whole arrangement feels like it is constantly twitching with ideas. Whilst the title gives it a darker edge, the track itself skips along with manic energy. It keeps adding little flashes and rhythmic nudges, enough to keep you smiling and slightly suspicious at the same time.

‘Forgotten Worlds’ is exactly the comedown the EP needs. After three tracks built around movement, pulse and that increasingly confident Thought Bubble bounce, the closing piece opens the space out and lets Gelf’s voice carry more of the emotional weight. I’ve said it before, there’s a Bowie like quality to his delivery, especially in the way the vocal sits with a little theatrical lift while the electronics stretch out. The sounds around the vocal feel calmer, more reflective, and the final stretch gives you time to come down from the brighter energy of the earlier tracks.

What I take from Dark Shapes is that this feels like the band have found their new MO. That might sound simple, but with Thought Bubble it feels like the real story. They have always had that mix of electronic curiosity, psychedelic instinct and lyrical oddness, but this EP makes those parts feel cleaner and more connected. ‘A Complicated Place’ is the big leap forward, and I would happily point anyone new to the band straight there. Around it, the other three tracks show different sides of the same growth. For a band who only released Who’s To Say earlier this year, this feels like a strong return rather than a quick follow up. Nick was right to send it early. I might be late getting to it, but Thought Bubble have arrived exactly where they need to. Dark Shapes finds them stepping out of the shadows with their sharpest shapes yet.

Dark Shapes is out now. You can check it out over on the Thought Bubble Bandcamp page.

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Photo Credit

Dan Raybould