Nipsis by Thymikon (Review)
I picked this disc up at Cornerstone ’96, absolutely stunned by what I was hearing from the small boombox that Beau had set up at his “booth.” While most people were milling around the booths set up by various pop-ska and pop-punk bands, some of the lucky ones happened to come across one Beau Branson. The cover artwork alone tips the listener off that this is not a typical CD. Eastern Orthodox iconography pervades all the artwork on the disc.
After listening to the title track, I knew that I had just stumbled onto something musically challenging with its strong arrangement of samples, heavily processed female vocals, hammer dulcimers, and an unrelenting synth-bass. “Remorse (The Watchers)” has a driving rhythm, reminding me of some of cEVIN Key’s percussive elements found on early Skinny Puppy recordings. Eastern-influenced musical patterns makes me picture this disc as a cross between Delerium and Dead Can Dance.
“Without 613” starts off with dark synth ambience until grainy, 8-bit hip-hop grooves start fluttering about in the background. Then comes the eerie vocal samples which dance back and forth while bouncing static pulses jump from left to right channels. This particular track seems to reappear in various forms on the CD. Tracks like “Demise,” “Aeternus,” “SOS #5,” and “Shimshon” are more restrained, with dark swells and subtle samples remind me of Delerium’s Stone Tower or Doubting Thomas’ The Infidel.
Thymikon harkens back to the early innovators of what we call “industrial music.” Stabbing Westward this is not. Nine Inch Nails? Not even a chance. Holding more in common with Graeme Revell than Al Jourgensen, Beau Branson of Thymikon creates textured soundscapes that captivate the listener into their dark and beautiful sonic atmospheres.
One of the last tracks on the disc, “Night”, is one of the few tracks with actual vocals. Nice vocoder and analog noodlings on this track. “Midnight Improvisation” is a curious juxtaposition of trance/jungle drum loops buried in the back while a lush analog synth string arrangement washes over the listener. The closing track, “Steel,” is a harsh and difficult closer to this 52 minute disc.
Surprisingly enough, this is an independent release by Beau Branson on his own Logistikon record label. Some of the indie labels should take notice. (Projekt? Metropolis? Dossier? Anybody listening???) A strong first release, and who knows what Beau currently has in the works. Highly Recommended.
Written by Josh Pyle. This review originally appeared on the Flaming Fish Music website.