Exposé Online banner

Exposé Online

Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
Covering music from the fringes since 1993.

Reviews

Nick Nicely — Secret Life of Chance
(Bandcamp no#, 2022, DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2022-09-03

Secret Life of Chance Cover art

The enigmatic DIY psych shapeshifter nick nicely is back with a brand new album that extends his musical explorations into new territory using drum machines, synths, and his vocoded vocals. This time around exploring dream pop with his unique vision. Included amongst the twelve songs are his Fruits de Mer 2018 single “All Along the Watchtower” / “The Doors of Perception” and last year’s single “On the Beach” / “Lives Unlived.” And not one content to leave things alone, he further tweaked these four songs for inclusion on Secret Life of Chance. Interestingly, track 10 “Waving Ghosts” is the first time to my knowledge where you can hear nick’s clear unprocessed vocals, which is quite a pleasant surprise and in my opinion the best song on the album. No two songs sound the same, though there are common elements across the album: muffled electronics, megaphone vocals, dreamy, trippy atmospheres, eerie sounds, and odd soundbites. Then there is nick’s twisted interpretation of Gershwin’s “Summertime” on “She Wave.” nick is moving on from his lo-fi DIY past with Secret Life of Chance, sounding much more polished than his recent releases. Though his breakthrough "Hilly Fields" put him on the cult pop psych music map, Secret Life of Chance is a great entry point to those who are unfamiliar with his work.

Filed under: New releases, 2022 releases

Related artist(s): Nick Nicely

More info
http://nicknicely1.bandcamp.com/album/secret-life-of-chance

 

What's new

These are the most recent changes made to artists, releases, and articles.