Being an avid music listener nowadays seems entropic, yet refreshing at times. You’ll always have your well-known bands that people gush over and shut out anyone who says otherwise. People don’t listen to music for fun anymore, but for pure analyzation to uphold their elitist notions of what is deemed “good”. For this reason it’s important for bands like Xihilisk to exist because you feel the freedom of expression through the music, and it takes the time to enjoy itself, and if you happen to agree then so be it.
Xihilisk is a one-man experimental band, usually delving into electronica/indie, consistent in maintaining surprises throughout each release. He purposefully releases all his albums for free upon completion, and to further exemplify his hate for the music industry he will be releasing his first greatest hits dubbed “F
UCK THE RIAA”. Man’s got spunk.
He also has talent and ingenuity. For this half-hour release, he experiments with dub electronica adding hints of post rock. Each song overflows with its own energy, yet somehow splice together soothingly. The first two songs alone are a fine example of his mix of eeriness and ambiance, while each have different moods; InSlider is more of a computerized electro-mix, quite mechanical, whereas Autonomous Seashield is just that: a self governing seascape with the drum machine crashing below the tremolo stylings of the harmonizing echoes. It’s not all electronic, however. Three later tracks feature guitars, especially Takenology, but more on that song later. Amanda and Lye Flatley are both purely guitar-driven, with added cathodics sprinkled around.
The whole album features a mood of dreamlike chaos, and the times where you cannot discern from reality when you’re awake will surely be expressed here. Whether it’s the fading in and out of the frenzied Aphex Twin sounding The Movement of Dogs, or the calming movements of Amanda, your imagination has the freedom to sway to whichever breeze plunges into you. Though, there is a rather unexpected shocker that closes the record. After four minutes of the unsettling atmosphere of Takenology, you’re greeted with the infamous silence between the album and the hidden track…and what’s the surprise you ask? Well, if I told you, you probably wouldn’t listen to the record :) Feel free to investigate Xihilisk’s whole discography, each record has its own charm, but this one is possibly the most accomplished of them all, an impressive feat considering he works out of his bedroom.
