Monday, August 11, 2014

CASSETTE REVIEW: Nik Hb “#edgeofthebed” (Cruel Nature Records)


                Unless if I’ve heard an artist before, I’m not really certain what to expect from them (and even then), so most times I listen to cassette with a clean slate, never sure what’s going to come on when I press play, and this cassette by Nik Hb is no exception.    Though this is not made entirely of guitars exclusively, it is a rather guitar based cassette and I really do find it fascinating that the single instrument in some ways acts as an entire band would.

                What begins as a crushing distorted guitar chord brings out notes within the buzz.    It loops and it crashes in such a way that I’d never heard before- never thought of before even- and yet now it somehow seems so obvious.    The second track gets some sort of possible vocals and has these slight hints of pop, but this is mostly a genuine demonstration on how the guitar can be used and how all these years so many artists before this haven’t been living up to its potential.

                Side B (There are two songs per side, which I like to call the even split) has more of a Star Wars vibe to it, with static and waves it can become quite robotic.   It is a change of pace on the third song from what Side A was, but it doesn’t stray too far away from its base.   The fourth song is where things get interesting, as for the first time the distortion is gone.    Guitar notes now ring through clearly, cleanly and crisply as it’s somewhere between scales and Nirvana (Something like tuning on the Unplugged CD and “Something in the Way”).

                As I’ve said, I never really have any sort of preconceived notions on a particular cassette when I first press play, but somehow “#edgeofthebed” by Nik Hb has simply left me blown away. 






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