Album Review: The Entitlement Generation

Foxy Digitalis by P. Somniferum

Nonnon's new record (in this case, cassette) is essentially two different records in one. Side 1 is a stellar amalgam of hip-hop and glitch, spiced up with lots of irreverence and psyched out as almost any Boredoms release, adorned with primarily digital effects bandied generously throughout. Side 2 is, to put it simply, less interesting and almost straight-up IDM. In the hands of a weak artist it might make the tape a failure. But in the capable paws of Salt Lake City's Nonnon (Dave Madden), it coalesces into, if not a roaring success, a very good record.

The first half begins with a song called "Coil Is Playing At My House (My House)," and it sets the tone of (at least) this side perfectly. Heavy on the 2's and 4's (and then blowing them [thefuck] up, Nonnon crunches up beats with natural ease and builds them up with plenty of winkin' and stinkin' cosmic guff. The hip-hop influence is heavy, but the humor and will to destroy in order to create forges something new enough to stay intriguing. Idiosyncratic and groovy as fuck, every song on this side is well-composed and mixed. Interestingly, the effects (mostly a mix of 'on-board' sounding digifx native to trackers and studio programs) sound nearly retro at this point, which is as much a testament to instant-obsolescence as it is to the artist's choice. I'm not sure if he meant to timestamp his record as being a turn of the millennium document, but it sort of sounds that way. The use of computers and various programs, whether it's a simple tracker or something more sophisticated like Cubase, often translates into the recording being time-identifiable. I have no idea whether that's important to Nonnon or not, but it's something to consider. In this case it doesn't matter much because the music is as solid. It's ready for the hood ornament.

Side 2 isn't as interesting. It's as well done in almost every aspect, but the focus of the whole of the tape is blurred because Nonnon pretty much abandons the hip-hop influence and opts instead for a "Quasi-Objects" era Matmos inspired headlong jig into IDM territory. Where the first side is a healthy mix of two sub-genres, the tape loses its luster and becomes less multi-dimensional, diluted due to a lack of focus. The music itself is good, albeit definitely derivative, lacking the zest of side 1. It's not important that Nonnon focus on one genre or the other; just that he does so on separate records. It's still a good thing to consider an LP as a whole.