Thorts is an emcee from Australia who has been making music for a while now. He was busy in 2019, with the release of a couple of EPs, the most recent being Chrysalis back in September. Now he’s teamed up with German producer Noblonski to release another EP, Beautiful Chains.

While this EP is only three songs long, the duo of Thorts and Noblonski make up for it by going deep with the material. By that I mean that Noblonski has crafted some really beautiful, soulful, and intimate beats, with just enough pop sensibility to make them immediately accessible, and Thorts is really opening up and giving you some personal and emotional lyrical content. It’s such a thorough self-examination, even if you haven’t spent any time with Thorts before, you’ll feel like you’ve been friends for years after listening to these three songs. Thorts is opening up about being at peace with where his career, how he’s had to deal with different forms of addiction and other demons, and so forth. He delivery, his sense of humor, and his honesty remind me a great deal of Sage Francis at certain points across the EP, which is never a bad thing. Noblonski and Thorts have great chemistry together, and they were able to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time.

When you look at Beautiful Chains on paper, you might think that this is barely a release. But when you listen to it, you’ll be taken on such a journey of beautiful and emotional hip hop with so much depth, you’ll actually lose track of time just listening to three songs. That’s no easy feat.