NUDNIK - Under The Underground

NUDNIK

Under The Underground
self-released; 2026

​​​​​​By ​Dino DiMuro​​​
​

As a reviewer, I sometimes feel like a hack by comparing artists to David Bowie, but it's a tribute to that man's genius and that so many groups carry his sound forward. Such is the case with NUDNIK, the musical project of one Robert Marc Lieblein of Las Vegas. His new album is called Under The Underground, and he proudly lists Bowie as an influence along with Duran Duran, Love & Rockets, Jane’s Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, The National, Wilco and Radiohead, "blending these influences into a sound that is both nostalgic and forward-looking." 

NUDNIK began in 2015 as experimental synth project, which evolved into guitar-heavy songwriting with his debut album "iNODE" from last year, described as "dark, atmospheric and confrontational." This new collection aims to push even deeper into emotional territory, as it was written in a time of personal loss, grief and transition for the artist. Musically the NUDNIK sound blends indie rock, art rock and cinematic songwriting using hypnotic guitar textures and atmospheric arrangements. The album is almost a full hour of music over 13 tracks so I'll touch on most of them. 

"Zen Silence" alternates spacey keys with hard rock guitars, overseen by Lieblien's prominent, vulnerable vocals. The rock sections do harken back the Simple Minds track "Don't You Forget About Me." Leiblien creates an interesting lyrical device where he lists certain actions or situations, followed by the admonishment: "Pause!" The animated Buddhist statue is also quite striking. "Pillow" is a favorite of the artist and reminds him of Jane's Addiction, though being older I got more early Alice Cooper energy. The snarly Alice or Iggy Pop-style vocal is in service to a "surprisingly vulnerable message, with an undercurrent of empathy and emotional support."

"Blue Day" purposely evokes Bowie's "Space Oddity" with the music, the vocals and the opening line "Major Tom is doing fine." It's as if Lieblien was asked to do a Space Oddity remix and he decided to stick to the first two chords, but he squeezes a lot of juice out of that onion! The next song "Love Is Eternal" is apparently (based on his Instagram page) inspired by the loss of Lieblien's father, though the song itself could be about any departed partner or loved one. I'm feeling sad Bob Dylan or vulnerable Lou Reed. 

"Every Second Counts" is the album's focus track, featuring the pulsing rhythms of 80's synth pop. Lieblien notes that the song "reflects on the fragile relationship we have with time, capturing the feeling that life is always moving faster than we expect." I like the forward drive of this track and the evocation of the word "time" (hey wait, Bowie did that too!). "A Fool" changes things up by sounding more like T. Rex and Marc Bolan. In "Zen As The Middle Ground" the vocals drop to Leonard Cohen level, with emotions to match. The strings are obviously patches but are nonetheless beautiful, as is the sampled female harmony singer. 

"the Modern Shock" is a hard-to-resist phasey rocker whose title can't help but recall Pere Ubu's "The Modern Dance." Next we have "Dissemination" which feels like an audio collage of Blade Runner world. "Transcendental" is a closing seven-minute epic that flirts with progressive rock, and certainly evokes a transcendental feeling with the echo'd guitars, heavenly keys and the concluding chorale. 

I forgot to mention that there's a strong visual aspect to NUDNIK'S music, and you'll get several striking examples of this while the Spotify album plays. Totally worth checking out in every way!

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