Nest Egg – Dislocation

By RingMaster Review on August 15, 2020 • ( 0 )

If you have ever driven in truly thick fog where to the front edge of your vehicle is pretty much the only distance of clarity you have then you will have enjoyed the exhilaration of the fear, the unknown and catastrophe lurking and the invasive arousal of the situation. Listening to the new album from US trio Nest Egg provides the aural equivalent, the release a dense and inescapable invasion of the space you share and claustrophobic devouring of the senses which left us richly invigorated and eager for the next ‘fix’.

Hailing from Asheville, North Carolina, the trio of guitarist/vocalist Harvey Leisure, bassist/keyboardist Ross Gentry, and drummer Thom Nguyen cast a sound which is said to be Krautrock bred. The successor to their acclaimed album Nothingness Is Not A Curse of 2018, Dislocation hungrily proves that their sound is a far richer and thicker mix than that regular tag suggests. Its six tracks are embroiled in the esurient essences of noise and psych rock aligned to post punk rapacity, each a cacophony of sound and enterprise which devoured yet equally seduced and all with an appetite to stalk the nihilistic traits within us all.

Eraser opens up the release, emerging from the distance to unleash a senses rattling rally of beats within a sonic breath. Quickly Leisure’s guitar spins its web of intrigue, a physical and mental infringement as magnetic as his attention securing vocals. With Nguyen’s rhythms a virulent incitement alongside the equally compelling drone of Gentry’s bass, the track quickly enslaved. As all songs in their individual assaults, it eagerly traps ears in a ravenous drone and binds the senses in relentless hum yet every esurient passage of sound comes with unpredictability and imagination, each flaring up with equally provocative and striking effect. The track is superb, galvanic in its character and corruptive in its breath, indeed manna to the frustration and disillusionment inside.

The track leads straight in the album’s title track, its initial eruption a rousing affair which soon is loaded with psych rock contagion and post punk irreverence. Again vocally Leisure is an incitement and echo of dark thoughts and emotions, the punk belligerence of the song boiling over to accentuate its melodic temptation and sonic predation. The ebb and flow of the incursion cast is maybe more pronounced than in the first but just as ravenous in its intent and fertility.

Two tracks in and already ears are ringing and senses rebelling yet greedy for more which the even more invasive D. B. Cooper provides. As almost debilitating as its harshest moments are, its melodic lures are pure seduction. Each contrasting texture though is fuelled by that compelling repetition and skilled cavity infesting drone with the band’s psychedelic invention a sweetener in the addictive corrosion. It too proves compromisingly addictive with the surf lit twists and psych soaked turns irresistible.

Barely touching two minutes, What!!??! I’m A Bastard!!??! just devoured everything in sight. Its voracious rock ‘n’ roll teasingly simmers initially but is soon careering through ears leaving no place unsullied and ignited by its adrenaline drunk creative horde.

A moment’s breath is allowed by next up Helix though that initial calm is soon enveloped in sonic jaundice as the song fully unravels the opening moments of its nine minute plus exploration. There is no surprise that the track unapologetically invades and blisters the senses though it soon leads to passages of raw melodic beauty and evocative incitement within the controlled yet free to roam tempest. Throughout the album Nguyen is infernal in his abuse and manipulation, a master class in both with Leisure’s guitar just as inventive and intimidating. Similarly Gentry‘s bassline burrowed deep and his craft on keys provokes a spark for the imagination especially here, as the song reaches the latter expanse of its journey, with their spatial kaleidoscope of intimation.

Gore brings the record to a close, the track catching attention easily with its rock groove and rhythmic shuffle. Of course both aspects are thick and enjoyably verging on the intrusive and prone to the occasional fierce flare up as the song sets its repetitious demeanour. Threat and aggravation seeps from climate and invention, eventually growing into a corrosion of intent and animosity around the undeterred monotonous and riveting core of the track. Pure cacophonous pleasure ensues with the band’s natural ebb and flow in insistence and physical transgression extra bliss.

Maybe Dislocation will prove only for the brave and masochistic but there have been few releases in recent times which have seen noise and creative persecution so glorious.

Dislocation is out now through The Acid Test Recordings and Little Cloud Records; available @ https://nestegg.bandcamp.com/album/dislocation