Posted November 28, 2018 by AdamSG1 Comment EP Reviews

Pleasure Craft burst onto the scene with new EP | EP1

All aboard the Pleasure Craft! Inside are nothing but waterbeds and beanbag chairs, Luther Vandross’s ‘Never Too Much’ on loop and lights that are dimmed just enough to make things sexy. EP1 is the debut EP from Pleasure Craft and well, colour me satisfied.

‘It’s Not Real’ kicks off proceedings with a sound that delights in bringing the tempo down just a tad to ramp up the sensual-ness it breathes. A bassline pulses in the background against some warbling synthesisers, subtle drums and Sam Lewis’s vocals seem to croon endlessly into the atmosphere. It’s thick with groove, and it wraps you up in a way that’s never letting go.

Following on is ‘Back in the Game’, which Sam describes as “I tried to compare everyday clothing to sports team uniforms. I tried to reflect on the identity I construct for myself and how people will spend most of their money just trying to belong…”. It wonderfully points out the contradiction that comes with buying the latest trends in order to show off one’s individuality but in reality, you’re all the same.

Snappy drums lays down a glorious groove against warping synths to create an instrumental that is wondrously catchy, and easily one of the best tracks I’ve heard this year. This then makes way for the stop-start struts of ‘Fine’, which definitely descends into insanity but never admits it. I love the harmonies in ‘I’m Not the Person That You Say I Am’, and the synths that seem to swell in and out of reach on closing track ‘Two Straight Lines’.

EP1 is a superb EP from Pleasure Craft. Sam Lewis has created a record that’s entertaining and fresh from the get go, and produces some grooves and hooks that certainly don’t fall victim to the theme of ‘Back in the Game’. Each track dabbles in showing off their saucy side, and I’d gladly stay floating around the atmosphere on the Pleasure Craft forever.