Thraa: Half Light EP

Occupying the same creative terrains as fellow north-west experimentalists A-Sun Amissa and transcendental specialists Bonnacons of Doom (the latter with whom they have recently toured with), Manchester’s Thraa take drone to far away places.

With the 2022 EP Into Earth and last year’s split alongside Wonderous Planet, Thraa (Sally Mason -vocals/guitar; Andi Jackson – bass/ guitar) return with their next instalment, Half Light.

Whilst exploring the inner grains of sound, Half Light sees Thraa not straying too far from the drone touchstones of this century, however the duo add their own flavour to the mix, and it comes via emotional force. Whilst fleetingly aggressive, Thraa aren’t the kind of exponents of drone that take to assaulting your internal organs, instead conjuring up the kind soundscapes that wash over you. 

Opening track, Into the Blue, is a fair example of that in what is an ethereal union between dream-pop and drone. Warm rushes of sounds that are equal parts hypnotic and meditative, creating the similar intoxicating atmosphere to what The Lord’s Greg Anderson and Petra Haden delivered with their spellbinding 2023 debut, Devotional.

On Concrete-Courant, Thraa move away from their usual instincts, with twists and turns that showcase a sci-fi lust in something that’s like a reversed engineered film score for Ex Machina. Meanwhile, Delta sees the duo scraping shards off the grease-stained floors that Nadja have inhabited for all these years. Mangled noise that screams from wall to wall in what is Half Light’s hardest hitting moment.

At over 16 minutes, ending with Closing Folded Hands, Thraa empathically tie together the latest chapter in their story. Taking its queues from the reverie of Into the Blue, here Thraa surge further into orbit. Mason’s voice, like a dark echo through scrambled frequencies, carving out of the kind of emotional response that’s like a spectre’s call to earth.

And that’s what Half Light is. A communication between different worlds in search of a common thread. Sonically, Thraa eventually find it with the kind of orbital drones that reach new space. Capturing a spirit that slowly seeps into the mind, Thraa continue a journey that will draw in new disciples along the way, and with Half Light being their finest outing so far, there’s plenty of momentum to take into their next release.

Half Light is out now via Into Earth Records. Purchase from Bandcamp.