Terry Presume is Unpolished for a Reason
2020 sucks but at least Terry Presume has dropped 38 songs so far this year (by my count). Everything about Terry is a bit confusing and enigmatic. First of all, it’s pronounced like résumé with a “p.” He clearly has no respect for normal release or marketing guidelines. Terry’s indifference to, even neglect of commercial appeal is both admirable and appealing. Yet he rolls his music out en masse for good reason. He uses musical releases as a way to communicate a stream of consciousness. Consequently, much of his work sounds a bit unpolished and raw. His first release this year is titled No Mix No Master, a pretty self evident title. It’s definitely an unorthodox strategy, but the result is that each song feels like a privileged glimpse into Terry’s emotions and experiences.
Terry comes from Florida and appeared on the ninth track of fellow Floridian Ike Offline’s album on a track titled Nostalgia.wav. Ike is a member of Backhouse Music, Dominic Fike’s label, so Terry’s ties to that scene helps contextualize his eclectic sound. The best artist comparison I can come up with is that Terry is somewhere in between Raury and André 3000. However, stylistically, Terry is difficult to pinpoint. On some records, like the Ike Offline feature, he spits forceful bars with a distorted vocal effect, characteristic of Florida rap. On other records, his form is completely unidentifiable from this sound. Baby, Kill Me Please is a heart wrenching ballad about a love so intense that Terry likens it to death. Over a booming drum line and punk guitar chords, on Karma Cycle he belts cautionary yet energetic bars and mentions his lack of father figure. His indefinable sound is what makes his music so compelling and his overwhelming release strategy exciting. If you don’t like the first song you hear, try another because no two songs are alike or about the same thing. Describing Terry’s music does it no justice, just go listen!
Written by Ben Sauberman