Oaks

Belfast-based electronic producer Oaks serves up five morsels of glossy and glitched-out sound collage on Astera. Even on tracks where the production is primarily his own, the new EP retains a "found sound" aesthetic throughout, as if it were made from a bank of movie sound effects.
 
On "Chateau," a throbbing one-note bass line underscores clinking glass and bell tones that seem like they've been thrown gently across the floor, as well as clicks and hisses that mimic paper ripping and packages opening. It's followed by "Clade," which features a choppy beat that feels lost and untethered, yet manages to channel a good groove nonetheless. Atop that, Oaks deploys a horn line and samples of baby talk, to joyfully confusing effect.
 
On the first few listens, the rich, bright sounds of this record are pleasing, but ultimately it disappoints because of its lack of ambition. Three of the tracks abruptly end before they reach the three-minute mark, and the only one that feels like a finished product (the title track) settles into needlessly prolonged repetition in its second half, as though Oaks was content to curate a pleasing assortment of sounds, but not sculpt them any further.
 
Here's hoping Oaks is back in the studio now, crafting a more fully realized follow up to this effort.