Gidge makes a welcome return to Atomnation with an immersive new five-track EP, Tundra. It features the single 'Bleak' which was their last release following their superb 2020 album, New Light. 'Bleak' came in support of Gidge's tour of the EU in 2022 and since then the duo has played many more sold-out shows to their warm fanbase across London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and beyond.
Tundra EP opens with the gorgeous 'Gausta'. Heartbroken chords are draped over slow, dejected rhythms, while vocal fragments and distant nature sounds add a signature organic touch to this most rueful of tracks. There is a desolate feel to the twanging acoustic strings of 'Grit' before more moody chords and lonely guitar notes hang dramatically in the air throughout this beatless interlude. 'The Fells' brings with it a sense of optimism as the drums pick up and then fall away to reveal more sensitive strings drenched in reverb. When the drums return with aching vocal samples, there is a brilliantly eerie atmosphere. 'Bleak' is a sparse fusion of indie and electronica - fragments of rhythm and piano, sweeping chords and nagging synth pulses all make for a forlorn vibe, and 'Whiteout' closes with five minutes of crepuscular synths that paint the picture of a barren and misty landscape untouched by human intervention.
This EP once again proves that Gidge consistently discovers true beauty in their bittersweet musical landscape, drawn from a palette of organic sounds that convey a cautious yet beautiful sense of hope.