MP3: Ross Fish – “Puzzles”

MP3: Ross Fish – Puzzles

“Puzzles” is a mellow piece of dub and psych-pop from Ross Fish’s upcoming album Parables, which will be available for streaming next week on his Bandcamp and Facebook. Fish’s last album, Dreams Feel Real, was featured back in 2010, when he was 18. Recently he achieved success in the Savannah dubstep scene with Bucket Full O Click-Clack, which he formed with friends from SCAD. These influences are echoed percussively throughout Parables, particularly on efforts that sound inspired by Burial’s late-night forays. But as a whole, Parables is a stylistically varied release that rides on Fish’s technical chops in addition to his abilities as a hook-driven pop songwriter. Some avant-garde efforts ride more on atmosphere than others, but tracks like “Puzzles” show his ability to meld various approaches together to create songs that evolve from serenely twinkling soundscapes into hook-filled anthems of sorts.

Parables represents a darker and more refined sound for Fish, one less reluctant to take risks and more willing to ride on his smorgasbord of influences. “Puzzles” brings to mind names like The Postal Service and Pinback for its lush and emotive electro-pop, but other more varied acts are also relevant. Hints of The Radio Dept. are heavily apparent, especially mid-way through when a delicate piano progression is gradually accompanied by a sonar-like glimmer and trickles of synth. Radiohead circa Kid A isn’t far off either, nor is the most striking of Sigur Rós’ orchestral swells. Anyone who heard Dreams Feel Real had justification to expect big things from Fish in the future, and if “Puzzles” is any indication this will be his year to break out.