By: Phil Johnston
Thomas Ragsdale | website | facebook | bandcamp |
Thomas Ragsdale is perhaps better known as Winter Son or one half of worriedaboutsatan and Ghosting Season. It’s been a busy year so far for him with ‘satan in full flow again and a stream of his own releases and collaborations with Jozef K.
Bait is his second album under his own name and also his second film soundtrack. Again, Bait is directed by Dominic Brunt (better known as Paddy from Emmerdale) and is gaining much praise as he explores his horror/brutal side rather than his likable Soap character. Soundtracks and film scores are becoming more popular but a lot of that is due to classics being reissued on Vinyl with elaborate packaging/design. While there’s nothing wrong with this, for myself it’s always about the music quality. Thankfully Thomas takes both very seriously and always puts a lot of thought and effort into his handmade physical releases. As for the music ‘Bait’ is much more than a collection of short accompanying music and is very much a fully fleshed out album. Rather than release the music used in the film, Thomas revisited the tracks and expanded them to create a fuller picture and it makes for an impressive listen.
For Bait and his previous solo album Before Dawn Thomas explores a much more ambient and largely beat free sound. However there is still a lot of similarities to his more electronic and Techno driven tracks. As a soundtrack it taps in to the tone and atmospheres of the film. Going by the music created here Bait is one seriously dark and brutal film. As Thomas builds layers of atmospherics throughout creating a dense and at times oppressive sound. It’s not all doom and gloom though as throughout the album there are plenty of melodic touches and even meditative sounds.
The main theme though is the quality, often ambient work can have the right sounds but be lacking in feel or just be bland background fodder. Bait is as engaging as it enjoyable and stands up as more than a soundtrack as simply a great album. There is enough variety and twists to hold your attention, not least the storming ‘When All Hell Breaks Loose’ that surprises and is a rare beat driven track. The title track reminds of the work of Nils Frahm and overall the album should find favour with fans of ambient/Modern Classical while being varied enough to appeal beyond that.
The packaging of the physical release as a limited tape should also be mentioned. Handcrafted and tied to the plot and theme of the film Thomas has put a bit of thought and effort into creating something a bit different. Combined with the excellent music Bait is an essential purchase that I can’t recommend enough.
