BLACK CLEAR VINYL Leon Thomas didn't need to release anything in 2025 to stay visible. The sleeper-hit title song from Mutt -- the musician's 2024 follow-up to the previous year's Electric Dusk -- was on the rise in May, when a deluxe version of Mutt landed with nine new songs and remixes. Five months later, "Mutt" was still climbing the Hot 100 and Thomas returned with this EP, digitally released just before he learned that he was up for six Grammys, including Album of the Year and Best New Artist, and issued on wax three months after that, coinciding with Grammy week. Given its timing and strength, Pholks is further proof of Thomas' prolific nature, no mere bone thrown to malnourished fans. Its seven songs spotlight the slightly lysergic funk-rock fusion of his band while Thomas, for the most part, works through a complicated relationship. The swift "Just How You Are" would fit better between Prince's "Controversy" and Teena Marie's "Lovergirl" than any two given songs on urban contemporary radio, yet it doesn't sound the least bit retro. In "My Muse," Thomas is just as vexed, but not so much that he doesn't admire small details ("Toes done even in the winter") while cooking up a deceptively coasting groove outfitted with wriggling synthesizer bass and lilting strings. "Baccarat," co-written by Lucky Daye and sure to please those who favor heavier LP highlights like "Blue Hundreds" and "Dancing with Demons," is a cyclonic rager. Only slightly less notable are the eerie "Feel Alive" and the tender 4batz collaboration "Lone Wolf." Thomas' hot streak continues. A1 Just How You Are 3:14A2 My Muse 2:46A3 5MoreMinutes 3:11A4 Trapped 3:06B1 Baccarat 3:39B2 Feel Alive 2:42B3 Lone Wolf 3:18
