It’s been almost a decade since the last Birdmask release but alternative chamber pop lovers are in for a treat. Returning back to his solo music, Birdmask has lost none of his original charm and complexity with ‘Tristan’. It’s a succinct and powerful EP crammed with five tracks that sucker-punch you into submission and catharsis.

The big shock here is that Birdmask’s music has had a gleeful abandon of bedroom pop to its production. This time around, everything sounds polished and of studio quality. Some musicians lose their identity when they make this transition but that isn’t the case here. Birdmask instead moves towards cinematic drum loops, brooding organs and synths and large shifts in volume and gravitas. ‘Recovery’ is the perfect example of this. The verses are quiet trickles of organs, synths and gentle vocals before the bass-rumbling drums kick in for the chorus. There is a hint of trip-hop soul hiding around the background with the layered and powerful vocals, although it’s more prominent in the street-wise ‘Way Out’. In that track light piano and thin bass are overpowered by layered vocals and a hunting beat.

I Used to be Sam joins as guest co-vocalist for the cinematic ‘Dearly Beloved’. Using a ticking clock as the main percussive metronome for the hazy piano and string-drenched sophistipop track, I’m reminded a little of Sigur Ros’ Jonsi. It is such a simple track on the surface but the vocal operatics and interplay between the two singers transform it into an emotional fountain that overflows in its finale. Fans of previous Birdmask music may forgive ‘Leave The Rain Outside’ for sounding like some of his previous work. Its cabaret slink and twinkling retro organs remind me of ‘Fire Dance’ and I suspect it’s on purpose given their titles. There’s even a vocal hook callback that carries over but this time instead of being playful, it’s more seductive and mysterious. The EP closes with ‘Breathe In Breathe Out’, an alt-pop track that reminds me of Utada Hikaru and Imogen Heap. Big beats, sympathetic playful and childlike synths, riffs and vocal tricks.

Manuel Gagneux, the man behind Birdmask continues to write inventive music that has just enough playfulness to mask the big topics and themes the music is really about. Turning coping with anxiety into a nursery rhyme, playfully slinking around the cabaret moods and adding soul, gospel and piano pop into the mix. The sense of experimental abandon is certainly more controlled and streamlined here compared to previous releases but the emotional core of Birdmask’s music shines just as brightly as ever. He has more creativity in his little finger than most other pop artists. This is probably a great starting point for anyone new to Manuel’s music and I promise you – if you enjoy this EP, you have a treasure trove of music to enjoy and fall in love with.

Recommended track: Recovery

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