Nick Klein - Bathroom Wall (2018)

Nick Klein is an artist making electronic music born in southern Florida and based in Brooklyn, New York since 2012. Upon moving to New York the concentration of his works output has been to mine and investigate the troped qualities in various forms of electronic music, and then to realize singular directions in how to communicate these ideas himself. Alongside Miguel Alvariño he runs the music imprint Primitive Languages.

His latest offering since the January 2018 EP "Lowered Flaming Coffin" (Alter) is a continuation of his burnt dance music explorations with "The Bathroom Wall" on Bank Records. As a totem to reflect onto with text, to rest ones eyes in blur, or to physically hold ones self up in the throes of intoxication, the bathroom wall takes and gives numerous gestures of use. Klein uses the symbology of the bathroom wall to construct five disparate wall scrawlings and hazed meditations into the compositional grounds for four meaner mid-tempo, rhythmic purges. Tracks "The Worst Band In The World" and "American Gut" take on the pulsing build of an intoxicated night out. The record divides in on and itself in tone with "Rather Be Your Enemy", an homage in title to the legendary Lee Hazelwood song, wherein the synthesizer convulses slowly conjuring the bleaker qualities of tinnitus taking the lead over your senses. Side B of the record throbs quickly with the blown bass drums and hissing rhythms of "Pushing Your Luck" and comes to a drawn conclusion with the ten minute come-down at sun rise burner of "Poor Me Another".

The record was recorded using a modular synthesizer to tape by Nick Klein and mastered by Josh Bonati. Design work taken on by visual provocateur Chris Norris (Steak Mountain).