Xploding Plastix make a welcome return to Beatservice Records with their mesmerising new extended EP, 'Thus'.

The production pairing of Jens Petter Nilsen and Hallvard Wennersberg Hagen made a hiatus-breaking return as Xploding Plastix in 2023 with the acclaimed 'This Is Accurate' long-player, carrying on the ground-breaking work that helped put them on the musical map throughout the '00s. After taking time out to score music for film, TV, and video games, the stylistically adventurous duo continue their rebirth with nine gorgeously immersive cuts that brilliantly convey their unparalleled sonic scope.

Launching the collection in striking fashion, the otherworldly textures of 'Thus I' set a dramatic tone, with off-kilter melodies and divergent synths entwined over jagged drums across a captivating arrangement. The energy effortlessly rises as we arrive among the fervour of 'We Are All Plausible Characters', where pounding rhythms power hyperactive melodies into a life-affirming crescendo of boundless vigour, with dissonant swells soaring above a densely woven bed.

Maintaining the genre-defying that encapsulates the Xploding Plastix catalogue, 'Dim Calculations' sees an abstract top-line meandering over throbbing drums and hyper-atmospheric harmonics as the elastic rhythm gently disorientates. Arriving like an alien lullaby, 'Healing A Social Wound' entrances as it unfurls, with bittersweet harmonies gliding over rolling drums and thick synth bass.

Drifting ever further into the unknown, the haunting swirls and aberrant rhythms of 'No Rebooting' prove powerfully affecting as the brooding musicality morphs through mood-altering waves, before the cinematic wonder of 'I Would Prefer Not To' blends poignant strings with floating melodics over an arresting arrangement.

The quick-fire rhythms of 'Optimal Bread' provide a bracing change of pace, landing like an off-world anthem as the mighty lead melody soars into the stratosphere, while 'I Only Have To Be Faster Than You' bursts into life with heavy synth textures cascading over erratic drums and snarling bass.

Finally, 'Thus You' completes the narrative arc, its aberrant motifs rising and falling for a mysteriously satisfying reprise.

Bold, engaging, and immaculately produced, 'Thus' is a vivid reminder of just how much we missed Xploding Plastix as they went about their respective journeys - and how glad we are that they found their way back into the studio to reconvene.