nazarevox - Inside

Nazarevox 

Inside
self-released; 2013

3.5 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Hailing from Brazil, Nazarevox makes experimental music on his latest album entitled Inside that infuses different genre somewhat successfully. He plays untraditional chords along with accentuating the nuances of any instrument. For example, he goes out of his way to separate the sound of a hi-hat by treating it as if it is a central instrument in the arrangement. Some of the ten songs here sometimes feel stagnant and overstay their welcome. Despite the occasional lulls there are some solid moments on this album that are intriguing if not captivating.

The album opens with one of the better songs on the album entitled “Cut.” The first thing we  hear are unique guitar chords slowly strummed before a lone hi-hat is introduced to the mix. The song starts to build as other instruments are introduced such as bass, another guitar and eventually a synth. The song feels a bit like a skeleton. It’s like the instruments never figured out how to coalesce together and become more than the sum of their parts. Instead you have a separation of sounds. “Predator” is basically a pulsating synth bass that has other instruments come in and out to create the ambience. I would have loved to hear some organic strings on this track as opposed to the synthetic ones. ”Dark” feels like a sloth. It barely moves and doesn't contain enough energy to really even want to go anywhere. The experimentation however with  synths, sounds and textures on “Creatures” proves to be a triumph. This track, which was one of the highlights, had a lot in there that sounded good with headphones. “Link” was a track that was on the verge of working well. It simply lacked the energy that it so desperately needed. “Volcano” had the most energy and gusto out of all the tracks on the album, largely due to the heavy percussion that was present on most of the track. 

The album closes with one of the better tracks entitled “UFO.” It sounds like a UFO taking off but with synthetic strings in the background. The end result was a bit unsettling. Nazarevox has a number of solid ideas here that sometimes lack the energy and creativity to make this album stand out. He is on to something though and has talent and we will see what else he is capable of on his next album.

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