Tradecraft - Randomness And Order EP Review

I honestly have a fair knowledge of what goes on outside the walls of our capital. Some Facebook users outside the metro message the blog in unexpected times and ask me to listen to their own local brews of music. Some bands I never expect to play this kind of music just shows how vast our music scene is -- I might be in the city mentality blues at the moment and I am working as hard as I can to showcase anyone inside and outside the country -- Though in the middle of my exploration, there comes a Davao-based band that I am too psyched to showcase, and that band is Tradecraft. The quartet has released only one single on their Bandcamp (I doubt that it’s their only single online) titled “Image Binary” released in November of 2015, showed a visceral sound similar to bands like Pia Fraus or local acts such as Disquiet Apartment. Their new EP titled “Randomness and Order”, is as straight-forward and enjoyable than your average dream-pop outfit.

Tradecraft’s “Randomness and Order” is one of those creatively composed EPs both inside and outside Metro Manila [Worthy mentions include Through the Waves from Dagupan and Anesthesia from Naga City]. This Davao dream-pop/post-punk band screams The Radio Dept, Moscow Olympics, and Turnover right all over its beautiful sonic design. The sound doesn’t stop there even if the tracks here finish right at its last second.

The EP shows that bands like Tradecraft exemplify the more adventurous side of dream-pop with tracks like “Loud Noise", “Searching”, and “Cosmo Clock 21”. The opening track “Loud Noise” acts as a fluffy welcome letter to the listener with tons of reverb effects and has an upbeat tempo that’ll make you dance. The second track “Searching”, is enshrouded with so much confident guitar lines; the track keeps on getting more detailed each time as it progresses. The dense production in this production lives up to their direction, as well as their lyrical content that contemplates the mundane everyday life and recovering from a melancholic past. The third and my most favorite track in the EP titled “Cosmo Clock 21”, has this intense wall of sound in the last 2 minutes. You will definitely stretch your arms in glory while the noise is all around your stereo headphones. Speaking of stereo, this project is wonderfully mixed too. Saturnine Audio did an incredible job capturing the band’s epic sound.

I will keep this review short and straight to the point because this 5-track project is home to the most textural, euphoric, and dreamlike experiences you can ever find in an EP all year. I suggest you guys to listen to “Randomness and Order” if you’re in for an auditory treat.