Ed Tullett – “Ply” (Stereogum Premiere)
For a moment, it can be hard to pin down the music of Ed Tullett, an English musician born in Oxford but based in Brighton. Here’s a starting point: He once remixed Bon Iver’s “Hinnom, TX,” and at 22 years old Tullett has already extrapolated his own weird mixture of electronica and folk that goes well beyond whatever he might have heard in Justin Vernon’s music. Tullett’s debut album Fiancé, out in February, is full of autumnal moodiness. His near-abstracted keen glides in and out of view above layers of acoustic guitars and gurgling synths, all of it like some simultaneously ancient and futuristic whispers weaving their way through cold air. Today, we have a new song from Fiancé: the haunting build that is “Ply.” It’s one of the more overtly electronic tracks on the album, built on flickering synths that hint at foreboding. That promise is fulfilled just after the three-minute mark, when a ghostly voice echoes out from the distance and currents of distortion carry the song to its conclusion. Like much of Fiancé, “Ply” doesn’t necessarily offer an easy resolution or climax at its end — instead, it invites you deeper into its chilly, strange world, for just a few more seconds.
Fiancé is out 2/19 on Monotreme Records. Pre-order it here.