NaÏ-Kobra Prospect - Impressions of Post​-​War Consumerism

Released: February 9

If the title of the album wasn't on the nose enough for you, Impressions of Post-War Consumerism is a story critical of the over-consumption that has run rampant in our world told in five very abstract and tumultuous parts. Each track tells of a certain aspect that Nai-Kobra Prospect observes in the frenzied world with some focusing on the personality and turmoil of those who participate while others focus on the whole of the situation and the forces that shape it outside the individual. Furthermore, each track on its own is rather dynamic and ever-changing. Calm atmospheres give way to utter chaos and frenzy only to subside and become calm once again. It gives less of an "ebb and flow" kind of vibe and more of a "cooler heads being rational until they also get caught up in the madness" kind of vibe.

The second track, "Narcissistic Mother-Obsessed Neurotics" is one of the less frenzied tracks on the album, leaning into some harsh yet subdued drones for much of the runtime, until near the end. Quickly, things escalate as we hear the sounds of drawers being rifled through, thuds of objects hitting the ground, and things being thrown with the pace of these sounds becoming faster and faster as if someone is frantically looking for an item they can not locate. The impression is one of absolute madness that seems to carry an undertone of material obsession, or at lest that is what I get out of it. 

"The Synthetic Ideal" is the closest the album comes to introducing a steady rhythm, but even this is a bit deceptive. The feeling the track gives off is one of praising some kind of pagan god, the kind that never claims to love its people. The rhythm is made up of strange found sound percussion and slowly increases in speed as the track continues, all while being joined by haunting vocalizations and strange horn-like sounds as the harsher noises slowly creep in. The track is honestly one of the more bothersome thematically to me, solely because it feels like a sort of cult-like worship with the object being rampant consumerism. It is truly fascinating the way these stories have been constructed and the manner in which they convey their message.