Nightmares on Wax

George Evelyn's solo efforts as Nightmares On Wax, after the split with founding partner David Harper, are as solid as they come. He owns the melodic dub-hop niche genre, like if Portishead found its Prozac. A bongload and a listen to NOW’s latest tripped-out, ragga-infused rendering Thought So… will leave you searching for the 53 minutes of your life that just evaporated in musical bliss. Evelyn is uncanny in his consistency; this release easily ranks with other NOW classics, such as 1995’s couch-dweller anthem Smoker’s Delight, or 2006's recent masterpiece In a Space Outta Sound.

"Da Feelin" and "195Lbs" instantly remind you of NOW’s penchant for concocting grooves that ooze with funky elegance. Chords dovetail with lusciously thick bass lines, hypnotizing strings, and subtle vocals...all meshing with effortless musicality. "Be There" and "Moretime" nod their hats to funk and "Calling" is beautiful and operatic. With only ten clean-cut tracks (minus the intro), this EP is lean but opts for quality over quantity. It can't be said enough that Evelyn’s production shines on high-end speaker systems and headphones, and is equally mated to the beach or a rainy day. Highly recommended for anyone with a chill bone in their body.

—Chris Nelson
09.15.08

Thought 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 instead achieve superlatives like effortless. There are a few additional moments of greatness ("Moretime" is a clear highlight), but also a few more tracks on the opposite side -- they may make for great background listening, but seem to require altered states to get through while focusing on the music. ~ John Bush, Rovi