Grounded in an innate sense of utter realness, Not That Special communicates through suggestion and imagined triggers, illuminating the edges of the present moment. It leaves a subtle but lasting impression—an ambient salve for the harms of modern urban acceleration, and a work that lingers long after its final note.
Mapping a conceptual sound-world
Across eight deft tracks, Puscha’s Not That Special, released on French label NEN, articulates a vivid timestamp rendered in colorful electronic boldness. The project of Antipodean producer Jacob Richards-Curry seeks to express a soulful lament while mapping a conceptual sound-world that spans a subjective view of the quarter century so far—from the benign to the transient, from the conundrum to the cataclysmic, from war to peace.
To paint reality within such a framework, the record traverses ambient soundscapes of melancholic density and a kind of aural machinery—proto–found sound metallurgy—that shifts between beatless probes and passages of thundering repetition. Textures feel both organic and engineered, as though memory itself were being processed, fractured, and reassembled in real time. There’s a quiet confidence in how these elements are arranged; nothing feels excessive, yet everything carries weight. The effect is compelling in its freeform affect. Its uniqueness is inviting and quietly captivating, commanding attention without demanding it. Richards-Curry demonstrates a measured restraint, allowing space and tone to do the emotional heavy lifting rather than leaning on overt structure or rhythm. In doing so, he crafts a listening experience that feels both intimate and expansive.
Grounded in an innate sense of utter realness, Not That Special communicates through suggestion and imagined triggers, illuminating the edges of the present moment. It leaves a subtle but lasting impression—an ambient salve for the harms of modern urban acceleration, and a work that lingers long after its final note.
Not That Special is available on NEN. [Bandcamp]
