Nymphomania — In Public

‘In Public’ is the third EP from Nymphomania, one of two solo alter egos for Washington State’s Josh Landry who also records as Glasscutter and as a duo under the name Disco Hospital. And just right for a disco, ‘In Public’ is presented more like a DJ mix than a collection of distinct pieces, with almost every track smoothly segueing into the next like a series of excerpts from longer pieces cross-fading into each other to keep everyone dancing.  

Strongly utilising the classic 606/909 drum machine sounds throughout, ‘In Public’ brings back memories of the early nineties when post-Industrial bands were seduced by the rave explosion. Wax Trax! signings such as Front 242 and Meat Beat Manifesto, whose early work arguably influenced those now heralded as techno pioneers, couldn’t resist re-aligning their sound away from the dystopian industrial miasma and onto the happier hedonism of the dancefloor. Indeed, the central section of ‘In Public’ from the tellingly titled ‘Feedbag Acid’ through to ‘Gangbang Psychology’ is a fairly faithful jaunty acid workout full of bleeps and squiggles bursting across the precise 4/4 grid dictated by the plentiful punches of the kick drum.

Bookending this ionised centre is, perhaps surprisingly, pop songs. Still retaining the filtered drum machine it explores some subtler synth pads playing bright melodies over which Landry positively sings. His bold yet naïve vocal tones, reminiscent of eighties electro pop like Marc Almond, are positioned as the strongest element in the mix, often layered and treated, but usually without drowning out his healthily melodious and heartfelt soliloquising. On ‘Color Spray’, for example, Landry wonders “some day I’ll learn to be a man” over and over as a distorted kick and a pulsing synth frozen to an uptempo grid propel his introspective thoughts outwards.

The anecdotal brevity of each piece, as it swiftly merges into the next, gives the EP a sketched, embryonic feel, which combined with the light and breezy production can make one crave deeper and darker patterns. Yet there is an optimistic free-spiritedness, particularly in the vocals, that is both rare and brave to share. And share he does as many of Josh Landry’s works, including this EP, can be downloaded for free from his website: www.drearypattern.com