- It's been over two years since Boxwork, real name James Wilson, released a solo record. He's kept busy in the interim, with sporadic remixes, collaborations and compilation appearances, and now the Londoner resurfaces with the Spooks And Thrills EP for WNCL Recordings. His sound seems to have matured into something more distinctive than the average UK house and techno on records like 2014's Pressureface. Some of those references are still around—check the high, sustained strings in "Remember The Freak?" or "Hot Wheels 2"'s familiar vocal clips and warm keys—and they work well as accents in Wilson's hulking, drum-centric bangers.
A lot of Spooks And Thrills sounds like Randomer letting loose with some cheeky samples, especially "Ghosts (Original Mix)," but Don Froth's "Drum Tool" version of the track is less inspired, unable to shake its strong similarities to this year's "Woodwork." In Wilson's hands, that percussive, hard-hitting style contorts into exciting shapes, thanks to an added sense of space and sly hints of nostalgia. Those tweaks are more than enough to keep Spooks And Thrills fresh and make fans hope it's not another two years until the next Boxwork record.
TracklistA1 Ghosts (Original Mix)
A2 Remember The Freak?
B1 Hot Wheels 2
B2 Ghosts (Don Froth's Drum Tool)