review: N.T.T. FxxKS dances below the horizon
“Just like a good film, with cleverly hidden subplots that become clearer upon every rewatch, N.T.T. FxxKS’ -horizon dancing below- is poised to get more familiar and comforting with every listen.”
I’ll admit, aside from jokingly pronouncing it “Shugazi” in my skate-punk years in the early 90s, I know almost nothing about the shoegaze scene, or the music associated with it. I think I even had it in my head that it was pretty heavy music.
I am fairly new at reviewing albums and this is the first one that I went into completely blind. My previous reviews were for bands I was familiar with, so I at least had a modicum of expectation on first listen.
My preconceived notion about what shoegaze music was, coupled with the band name of N.T.T. FxxKS, really had me prepared to hear something heavy. Brutal, even. The syncopation of the opening beat together with an industrial sounding loop made me sure that I was right and that a blast beat of some modern iteration of heavy metal was about to be unleashed.
While I waited for the aural assault, something completely unexpected happened.
I was instead greeted by warm layers of guitars and a soothing, nuanced voice that blended in more like another instrument in the arrangement, rather than clearly being out front. Within minutes of listening, the word that came to mind more than once was ‘beautiful’.
Photos by: Jennifer Savage & Aaron Kelley
As the album progressed, I was not only impressed with how every layer was meticulously arranged enough to stand on its own, but how seamlessly they all meshed together. Just like a good film, with cleverly hidden subplots that become clearer upon every rewatch, N.T.T. FxxKS’ -horizon dancing below- is poised to get more familiar and comforting with every listen.
The bass lines stood out to me on several tracks, including “braided lock”. They didn’t quite take center stage, but they were bright, and every note was clear and with purpose. It was as if the bass lines themselves were your guide through a dreamworld. They were a little piece of reality amongst the haunting and ethereal dreamscapes they are partnered with.
The percussion throughout the album was as steady and trustworthy as a rowing crew on the Potomac. Sometimes as the rowers, and at others as the coxswain steering through the waters. Commanding and capable, yet never overbearing.
On the song “Don’t.”, I did get a very small taste of the heaviness that I was expecting from the start. While certainly not as ‘brutal’ as a metal breakdown, there is an undeniable moment in the song that will give even the staunchest of metal purists the ‘stank face’.
By the time I got to the album closer, “Tired of Being Tired”, I really felt like I was starting to understand what shoegaze was.
And I dig it.
N.T.T. FxxKS is an alternative, dreampop-infused shoegaze band that was formed in late 2009 by Aaron from Seattle and Zephyr from Albany. Their debut album, Making Mountains Out of Ant Hills, gained attention for its absorbing atmospheres and infectious melodies.-horizon dancing below-, their first EP in 15 years, is out now on all major streaming platforms.