Virginia Wing: Rhonda (Fire Records)

South London based artist co-operative Virginia Wing fuses tidbits of ambient noise with far away vocals to some curious result.

The opening title track of their three-song EP, Rhonda gradually rattles out into a break beat dance track, off-kilter, with a cascade of autumnal vocals and chopped up spoken word samples. The soundscape is relatively open with some atmosphere elements at play but the mix is mostly clean and uncluttered. By far, the most effective of the trio, is the shortest middle track, Sisterly Love full of intensity and what sprawls into an unfettered churn. The vocals are clearer and far more emphatic. On the last track, the drum and bass rises to an enthralling beat but offers, even after repeat listens, little compliment to the previous tracks. As Daughter Of The Mind fades to its simpering end, a richer atmosphere rises through, a speculative tone, riveting with a classic science fiction feeling.

This is a pretty decent EP, the songs really comfortable in its development and experimentation. Coming off of their more psychedelic debut full length album, Measures of Joy Deluxe, I’d like to have felt more ambience and soulful warmth in places from Virginia Wing, but what I was missing felt slim in the end.