Richman - "Outlier" Stream

Photo by Maal A Goomba

Tom Richman is one of several talented musicians involved with Bear Club Music Group. Richman's new EP, "Outlier," is seven tracks long and easily his most cohesive solo release. "Outlier" is brimming with dark, jarring instrumentals ranging from house to experimental hip-hop.

The project's opening track, "Lights Out," conjures up an image of a shadowy figure smashing light bulbs to pieces in an empty warehouse. A lone voice repeats a mantra of "It's dark in here / No balance" throughout the song as murky drums rumble and various bits of squealing distortion echo into the darkness. A similar mood is achieved on the closing track, "AWOL," on which Richman compiles a pulsating, heartbeat of a bass line, a sinister guitar sample, and several industrial elements into a writhing, nocturnal beast of a track.

Sandwiched in-between those two songs are other similarly cryptic transmissions, along with some unorthodox electronic tracks. "NY 1" and "DC 1" could sound a bit out of place at your typical house performance, but that doesn't make the songs any less satisfying.

"Outlier" is Richman's most exceptional release to date, and potentially a key piece of output in Bear Club's ongoing "goombawave" experiment.

Stream and download "Outlier" below.