Marrying The Streets’ lyrical prowess with the woozy grooves of collaborator King Krule, Pinty’s jazz-inflected house cuts hit harder than ever in new EP ‘Tomorrow’s Where I’m At’. Born out of an all-consuming grief, the project is brimming with a poignant euphoria that perfectly captures the mood of the day and marks a new phase for the Peckham MC, one defined by an acceptance of the past and optimism for the future.
Whilst the tracks still have a nocturnal glare, never straying too far from the warping synths and intoxicating beats of his previous releases – 2019’s ‘City Limits’ and 2020’s ‘Midnight Moods’ – there is a newfound honesty and vulnerability. Ambient opener ‘On’ places this candidness centre stage, its meditative tone setting a clear intention for the rest of the EP, and this extends into the warm haze of ‘Found It’, a love story set in his local pub, The Gowlett. We hear that “love was lost I found” ring throughout, Pinty’s laid-back bars and dubby beats making it hard to believe that this is the first time the MC has felt confident enough to write about matters of the heart.
The jazzy inflections of ‘Comfort Me’ provide another tender moment as Pinty teams up with fellow South Londoner and nu-jazz trumpeter Emma-Jean Thackray. Evocative of smoke-filled jazz clubs and late-night grooving, the soothing brass romanticises his vision and hope for the future as he exclaims “my heart is open/please can you comfort me”.
Pinty also explores the darker side of his pain on tracks like latest single ‘Another Lost Soul’ and ‘Red Lorry (I’m Sorry)’, on the latter, he sings “I said goodbye through the window pain/which is stained in rain”. Set against the playfulness of the tongue-twister and softly throbbing house beat, the frankness of these words makes it difficult to know whether to cry or dance. Much like the rest of the EP, there’s a reminder how unshakable loss can be, and that the only way forward is to find a way to live.
In what feels like a final catharsis, Pinty states that “City Limits raised me but Tomorrow’s Where I’m At” on closing track ‘Off’. Much like the title suggests, the EP is a line in the sand for the Peckham native, its raw storytelling and hypnotic beats capturing his optimism for a future fuelled by the grief that once consumed him.