After a six-year gap, Tom Vek has surprisingly released some new material. Premiering for the first time today (November 12th) the album is entitled New Symbols and was released through record label Moshi Moshi records. New Symbols is Veks’ first extended play since Luck, which the multi-instrumentalist released back in 2014.
New Symbols comprises eight layered tracks. The first track, Survive, epitomises what everyone is trying to do during this pandemic. Opening with a choral explosion of ethereal vocals, Vek injects an indie rock edge with riffy guitars and some heavy drums.
Vek sings the determined lyrics “And we will survive/And we will survive/And I will take great steps/And we’ll be proved right”, words that resonate all the more deeply during this coronavirus climate. This theme continues when Vek sings: “We can survive/We can trust ourselves and win that fight”, conveying the importance of standing up against adversity and carrying on.
Chatting with NME about Survive, Vek said of the opening track: “those lyrics were written and recorded last year. It was just how I was feeling at the time. I took hold of the lyrics to make it a positive song. I was listening to it a few weeks into lockdown and the chorus ‘I know it’s hard to feel stuck in place’ made me nearly screenshot a notes app because I felt obliged to share this encouraging thing.”
Guilty Pleasure is a cacophony of percussion and keys. Wasting no time, Vek crams layer upon layer of drums and synthesised keys, singing about wanting to leave someone but being unable to: “You’re holding off, I don’t know when to leave/Now there are things you wanna know about me/And you don’t care, cos nobody cares”
The album moves between one instrumentally layered track to the next. From Slippery Fish, to Rolling You Down, to All The Time In The World, the genre-defying and multi-instrumental skills of Tom Vek become impossible to ignore.
The closing track, Fountains Spit Your Name, gives the album a cathartic feel. It brings the projects’ themes, sounds, and ideas to a head. Vek’s mighty baritone soars above the instruments, melding together in a wonderful crescendo.
As well as treating us with a brand new album, Tom Vek has unveiled a new music playing device that he himself has personally designed. A “high-fi device” the Sleevenote is “the music player for album lovers”, according to Vek.
Designed for music lovers, the Sleevenote “brings hi-definition, full fidelity album artwork to digital music”, pairing an album’s visuals with the full listening experience. In an official statement, Vek explained how he started work on Sleevenote around the same time as his fourth album, New Symbols.
Vek explained that his love for music and technology have slowly joined together over time. Vek said: “Over the last few years I’ve been working as a designer and met a software developer. That’s what led to the Sleevenote project. The excitement of that coming together is what spurred me into getting the record finished. I was excited about it being so unusual for a musician, as my interests have grown into the design and product design because I need that extra excitement.”
New Symbols is out now. The full tracklisting for New Symbols is as follows:
1. Survive
2. Guilty Pleasure
3. Slippery Fish
4. Rolling You Down
5. All The Time In The World
6. My Child
7. Washed Up On The Beach
8. Fountains Spit Your Name
