Review Summary: Check Fugazi.
In the course of the past few years, many noise rock bands have opted for a fairly straightforward, no-bullshit sound. There’s that need to keep it cohesive enough to be “rock”, but muddy and loud enough to live up to the “noise” moniker. Brendan Nixon knows this better than most. At just fifteen years old, he’s already co-written and produced an album with his previous band, Blue Mist. With Apparitionist, Brendan’s primary goal was to pay tribute to his favorite noise rock and punk bands, as opposed to the psychedelic-influenced sound of Blue Mist. And in spite of some minor flaws,
Godspeed is a promising start for Apparitionist. At just three tracks in length, the album wastes no time in establishing its tone with opener and title track “Godspeed”. The production is incredibly muddled and downright ugly at times, but it suits the unsettling vibe of
Apparitionist perfectly. The Black Flag and Fugazi influence becomes evident quickly, with the distorted, simplistic guitars and crashing cymbals nearly drowning out Nixon’s ear-piercing cries of
”GODSPEED TO YOU!”. “Conversion” follows up on this well, but with a far more prominent bass taking center stage and dominating the music. The appropriately titled “My Application to Hell” is the most experimental of the three tracks, relying less on a clearly defined song structure, and more on creepy ambience and disjointed, intertwining samples. Of course, Nixon’s mostly indecipherable vocals may be seen as a negative for some, and the EP is surprisingly short, leaving you yearning for
more out of Apparitionist. But overall, Nixon has managed to prove his potential as a noise rock musician, and gives you the feeling that he’ll only set the bar higher with future releases. Now, if only Fugazi would get back together…..
