Yorkshire based Sulk Rooms is a single entity by the name of Thomas Ragsdale who has conjured immersion for TV, film, with tracks appearing in BBC documentaries and beyond. His live music journey has led him to tour with James Adrian Brown (Pulled Apart By Horses) and be a key member of post-rock’s Pijn, Sulk Rooms is a skilled conductor of emotion who’s talents stretch far and wide and ‘Rewilding’ ties a ribbon on his ability to encompass the cinematic see-saw between weightless drift and hurried heartbeat.
Opening track ‘Let’s Choose Our Words Carefully’ builds and grows until undercut with a four-to-the-floor showing enticing danceability, still within the realm of headphone listening, before trailing back into familiar textures and flickered samples it emerges like a landmass coming into view as we wander into our first wilderness.
‘Rewilding’ feels tangible, it invokes certain imagery of rugged and almost unforgiving terrain. Nature which It is not ours to control but to exist alongside in peaceful observation, each track feeling like they portray the emotional state of the surroundings rather than those passing through. Album highlight “Innelea” provide Intelligent IDM flourishes with nods to artists like Clark, Oneohtrix Point Never and Floating Points whilst maintaining lush ambient and sinister post-rock sensibilities. The album is as cohesive as it is exploratory in its many subtle inflections as mechanical drum sequences undulate under pulsating, ever-developing texture layers. Flairs of the neo-classical in ‘A Moment To Unfold’ into the fluttering intensity of ‘Hyper Tension’ where the calm layering of sub drone/heavily delayed guitars and uplifting harmony all balance perfectly, never veering into cacophony. This is brain massage music for introspective moments away from daily life perfectly captured and released by studio extraordinaire Joe Clayton (Floodlit Recordings) who’s grace and execution at the desk makes every pulse feel essential to the experience. Powerful synth manipulation and utilisation of cavernous reverb in ‘Tether’ feel ominous and steer your mind to an inviting unknown which stretches out into eternity.
“Rewilding ties a ribbon on his ability to encompass the cinematic see-saw between weightless drift and hurried heartbeat”
Sulk Rooms association with the world of post rock and metal is worn proudly here with is over-arching feelings of hope-in-solace and grit to encapsulate the environment portrayed. The Yorkshire wilds tranquil and harmonious landscape is punctuated by a bloody history which leaves its mark at every corner, creating the perfect tapestry for ‘Rewilding’ ascent into crescendo and hang on for resolve. We conclude with the howling wilds and sparse guitars of ‘Hark, it Thunders!’ which echoes and haunts with a delightful shimmer as it fades into a faint possible voice similar to a CHVE project, truly feeling like the final part of the Rewilding process. Allowing nature to lead in its own restoration as we recognise our role as merely assisting and rarely interfering.
Ever present in the background in various forms and projects it feels an identity fulfilled for Sulk Rooms. ‘Rewilding’ delights, mesmerises and highlights the beauty and necessity of allowing nature to reshape to its own rhythm and at its own pace.