Nohzdyve Nohzdyve cassette
I’m not a fan of the show Black Mirror. I find its bleak outlook and glib social commentary respectively unpleasant and annoying. So, it’s fitting that this Los Angeles act, named for a fake video game in that series’ Bandersnatch installment, similarly rubs me the wrong way. Musically, it’s not the worst. The six short tracks on the cassette are a jazzy spin on the same post-URANIUM CLUB herky-jerky, smart-guy rock you just can’t escape these days. It’s stuff I’m a little tired of, but it’s played competently enough. I could see this having an interesting no wave vibe if it were a little looser or noisier, but a chintzy drum machine keeps it an unpleasantly stiff affair. The main offense here, though, are these vocals. Throughout the release, some absolutely unforgivable lyrics (for example, “Onomatopoeia / Chia Pet supreme / Mary had a little lamb/ life if but a dream”) are delivered in the same cadence and rhyme scheme as a protest chant, as though cleverer words have never been uttered. Just top-tier annoying shit. Maybe give the instrumental “Mii Time” a listen.