Review Summary: Nihilism for dummies.
Just two months ago, Brendan Nixon released the debut EP from his noise rock project, Apparitionist, entitled
Godspeed. An homage to bands such as Fugazi and Black Flag, it was a satisfying, albeit slightly flawed experience. Now, Nixon has put out his second release,
False Euphoria, and it’s definitely a step in the right direction. The first thing you’ll pick up on going into the EP is the huge departure from Apparitionist’s previous sound. Whereas
Godspeed stylistically leaned more towards the early sound of 80’s hardcore punk bands,
False Euphoria delves more into the experimental side of things. The production is noticeably better than before, with the guitars, drums, and samples all fitting nicely and clearly into the mix. But in spite of that, it still feels just as jarring and surreal, with the layers of guitar riffs almost tearing away at one another while Nixon’s distorted shouting rages on in the background. The most interesting aspect of the EP is the multiple sound collages Nixon creates and litters throughout the songs. Most of these are comprised of vocal samples and bits of ambient noise, and end up projecting a much darker, disjointed, and even somewhat disturbing atmosphere around the music.
And that leads into the biggest positive of
False Euphoria: It works perfectly as a transition album for the project. It really feels like Nixon has a better grasp of what he’s trying to go for this time, and consequently the music comes off as much more focused and cohesive as a whole. Sure, the lyrics are just the same political and social commentary you’ve heard a thousand times over (i.e. the media is controlling us, society is shallow and unproductive, the human concept of happiness has been twisted into a shadow of itself, etc.), and Nixon’s vocals do still suffer in terms of production quality, but overall,
False Euphoria is a rewarding, fruitful experience. Nixon seems to have finally found his niche, and in doing so has massively improved upon the foundation he built not too long ago. So, the next time you’ve got a craving for nihilism and twelve minutes to spare, don’t pass this one up.
