Before
Seth Haley adopted the name
Com Truise and joined the
Ghostly International roster, he released music under other monikers including
Sarin Sunday,
Airliner, and
Systm, often through netlabels or Myspace. 2012's
In Decay collected nearly an hour's worth of early and unreleased material from
Haley's archive, and its 2020 sequel, compiled with the help of superfan Polychora, does much the same. While
Haley's work became more ambitious and technically stunning as his career progressed, he established his signature sound early on, making his catalog remarkably consistent.
In Decay, Too delivers more or less what fans would expect, but it does show off his range a bit more than some of his other releases. Midtempo drum machine patterns and hazy synth melodies are standard elements of
Haley's tracks, and while they're often laid-back and beach-worthy, his music is more intricate than it seems, and his busier, more involved tracks stand out. "Chemical Legs" (first released as part of the Adult Swim Singles Program in 2012) has more jittery synths and glorious panoramic drum fills, but the most surprising part is when clear vocals show up for a verse, after first appearing through vocoders. "Reciprocity" is a bit faster and more new wave-sounding than usual for
Com Truise, and with more live-sounding drums; as a nice touch, it morphs into a slower, murkier beat for the last minute. "I Dream (For You)" is slower and initially sparser, with a sinister robot voice repeating the song's title, but it eventually gains trap-influenced drum programming and more vivid, exploratory synths. "Galactic Melt" (presumably an off-cut from the project's 2011 full-length debut) is more disorienting at first, beginning with a manic collage of bitcrushed glitches and a disembodied cry, but it soon settles into
Haley's familiar slo-mo funk sound. "Peach (6809)" almost seems like
Com Truise's version of rave music, with a fizzy bass line similar to early
Prodigy but more mangled, and atmospheric synths that swirl around in a state of wonder. ~ Paul Simpson