Nootropics ... connects layered loops and trippy chants with catchy rock ’n’ roll arrangements, delivering a pure punch of sonic bliss.
This is one of those albums that creates its own little sound world, and a lot of its appeal has to do with qualities like texture and atmosphere.
Despite the inescapable eeriness and portentous nature of the album, Nootropics is not a completely bleak affair.
If you’re willing to put the effort in, then you will be rewarded with an achingly beautiful and immersive album.
This is an album that will reward repeated listens and unravelling and should be welcomed for its ambition.
The end result is an intriguing, ambitious set of songs that reward those who opt for full immersion, rather than cherry-picking tracks, with each listen.
As a breathtaking study in grayscale minimalism, Nootropics is exquisite. But it dissipates the instant it touches air.
Murkiness reigns supreme for the most part, casting its shadow over the majority of the material here, making the instruments sound tense, if not worried.
It’s undoubtedly complex, awkward and occasionally without direction, but it also produces moments of astonishing splendour, each with the capacity to bring neck hairs bristling to attention.
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