Boy Is Fiction extends both ends of the sonic spectrum: going deeper into complex, cinematic sound design for ambient passages and cranking up the intricacy of his glitchy, multilayered beats.
Bringing everything together for maximum impact
Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, Alec Gillett has been releasing emotionally-charged electronics under the Boy is Fiction moniker since 2007. For his second outing on n5MD, Gillett extends and enhances the template he established on his three previous full-lengths. He extends both ends of the sonic spectrum: going deeper into complex, cinematic sound design for ambient passages and cranking up the intricacy of his glitchy, multilayered beats.
Indeed, while some tracks confine themselves to one end of that continuum or the other, “Synthetic,” and the following track “I Told You I’d Find You,” form a pair of entirely beatless tracks, comprised only of gorgeous layered, atmospheric swells. Most of the album succeeds by combining the sublime with the gritty. The opener “In Between” as well as the title track sit squarely in the center of the classic n5MD sound: buildups of ratcheted IDM grooves, breakdowns of massive synthesized pads, and a combinatory finale that brings everything together for maximum impact.
The production and musicianship across the entire effort are top-notch, but there are a few standout tracks that elevate above the rest. There’s “Kata,” which lulls you into a few moments of contemplation with a gently, slightly detuned piano intro before barrelling through with a rumbling sub-bass groove and microscopically-precise breakbeat. Also worthy of mention is “Rebroken,” which, true to the name, centers granulated vocal and instrument samples over shoegaze-y guitars and glitched-up hip hop beats.
The album closes out with “See You on the Flipside,” which is both a breezy way to say farewell and a perfect summation of what’s come before. While there’s a sonic consistency to the record, it manages to avoid feeling formulaic by varying the ingredients from track to track—more or less beat, piano vs guitar as lead instrument, vocals in spots but not everywhere, the way you’d expect a master chef to turn out dishes that are varied in flavor but still recognizably theirs. And Gillett’s output is very tasty indeed!
Deeper Than Static is available on n5MD. [Bandcamp | Release page]
