Review: NO SHORTAGE OF ROPE by Nick Klein
Nick Klein - No Shortage of Rope
(2020, Psychic Liberation)
Ok I’m listening to this one totally blind. Don’t remember where I heard about this or how it ended up in my Bandcamp link list. This tape is out now on Psychic Liberation which rings a bell but I don’t remember where from. I’m gonna try and write this without googling. My listening link list is so long and is so far out of control that it’s nearly impossible to remember how I heard about the ones from the top.
Track 1 has a pretty clear digital sort of palette happening. Some pretty rhythmic patterns going on as well. There is a clear floor set in terms of pitch, so that despite the noise, I always know what the root note is. Not really reminiscent of harsh noise so far although it gets more complex (and lower) as it proceeds.
Track 2 (“A BUNDLE AND SOME SPEAKERS”) is way more house-flavored. Seems like this might be something from the industrial oeuvre. As the melody hits the vibe is articulated. IDM I think would be appropriate. I would absolutely love to be at the club with something like this playing. With the right lights, I could be transported to a state of ecstasy without any drink or drug. I wonder how he does the melody. I always wonder about this with club music. Was it pre-composed or does he twist some knobs to allow it to pass through some filter. This song goes hard.
Track 3 “TIME CHANGES IN THE GARDEN” This one is cool too. Hard to know what to say about music like this in all honesty. The tempo just switched up a couple minutes in and it was tuff. Wow this is nice. All I’m thinking of is how fun it would be to dance to this at a club. I don’t really go to clubs much. I’m not really much of a dancer or a drugs guy.
Track 4 : This stuff does a great job of being musical and implying melody without spelling it out to the listener. This track is the most melodic so far. Interesting how the melody is sort of beholden to the rhythm. All the plinky plonky notes seem to be in the right key but they still don’t really seem to matter all that much. They just sort of bow to their 16th-note masters and the driving quantize bass that they serve. Cool. Small changes signify a lot in stuff like this. One thing drops out and the vibe is totally different
I think I’ll do some Googling before the last track is done.
Track 5 “BED SORE ACID” Gosh this stuff is wild. Not what I expected to find in my listening list. This one goes hardest so far. The melody is a mere two-note phrase that repeats, but not in the same time signature that the bustulating 4-on-the-floor is suggesting. A very simple but quite effective move. The rhythm section on this one plays something that is almost reminiscent of The Matrix. It would suggest moving through space if the kick drum didn’t so insistently drill us home.
Track 6 “GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY” Crazy rhythmic thing happening here. The first minute leads us to believe that no one at the club could dance to this. But that all changes. This might even be the one that the dancers jump the highest to. This album–I’ve realized–nearly fits into the Bladetrix world. Crazy stuff. The avant Garde is so present throughout but it doesn’t make it any less groovy. The melody on this one is so insistent. Just does its thing until the point is driven home.
Track 7 “FRENCH-PROPERTY.COM” Ok last track here. Wow I can’t believe I thought this was going to be a harsh noise album. Gorgeous start to this one. Nice little descending synth progression. I wonder if this will be the outro or grow into something more. Seems like it will just be an outro. Nick Klein seems like an electronic music guy who puts out a lot on his own Psychic Liberation.
Fascinating to listen, although I had little to say about it.
