After the success of the broad and powerful second LP <em>Alone In Time?</em>, ? [Phase] continues his ongoing connection to Token with the <em>Submerged Metropolitan</em> EP.
The title track enters with Burchett's own brand of unease; the lead is tense and discordant, moving over a bumpy, rolling kick. Brushing off-beat hats rush overhead and play delicately with this unease above the thunder. A vague spoken word sample adds texture and contributes to the cerebral edge.
Ethereal swells and intense rhythmic play introduce <em>Fallen Columns</em>, which delves into atonality with keys that add a controlled recklessness to the composition.
<em>This Absent Mind</em> takes on a hypnotic, dubby form with a confidence that belies its complexity. A sublime breakdown introduces the heavier second half of the track, which enters impressively and batters on to the end.