REZZ x X1-Y2 - NOVUS

When you go to the record store, if it’s an establishment who’s affectionate toward genres – you’ll typically see a section for “goth/industrial”. Since the 80s, those two genres have long gone hand in hand while harboring markedly different sounds. Goth is a direct descendant of post-punk, so the focus is meant to be placed on brooding bass and guitars while typically featuring plenty of reverb on the drums. Industrial, on the other hand, is still very melancholic but instead channels that same sentiment via aggression through forward-thinking and at times experimental electronic music. Where It’s Not a Phase was Rezz’s goth release, her collaborative NOVUS EP with the mysterious X1-Y2 is clearly Space Mom kicking off her industrial era.

The four tracks that span NOVUS encompass the most glaring glimpse of where Rezz sees herself as an artist thus far. She’s constantly developing her sound into darker spaces while exploring the potential of what it means to truly push the envelope. Although Rezz now exists in the mainstream of electronic music, her approach to the genre is anything but mainstream. NOVUS is the polar opposite of conventionality: it’s a scathing cyberpunk mini-opus hellbent on shattering our understanding of what heavy bass music is supposed to sound like. Adding to the allure of this ultramodern exploration of the murkier passageways of bass music is the obvious question: who even is X1-Y2?

If the Deathpact project has proven anything to us, it’s that we can wax intellectual about who’s behind the mask all day and still be in the dark. So instead let’s focus for a second on what this ambiguous figure brings to the table – the most obvious being atmosphere. “Subsequent” is one of the most lush, buoyant tracks in Rezz’s catalog and not only is it rife with melody, but it gets downright pretty for a moment. It’s undeniably a slapper, but there are some lighthearted elements inside that allude to Space Mom’s more playful and lighthearted sonic leanings. The same can be said about all four of these tracks in fact – they each may be irrevocably intense, but there’s always a melody or some source of light within the duo’s exquisite darkness.

Looking for a track that revels in its intensity? “Proximate” is a scintillating endorphin rush and a sharply effective release opener, plunging the listener deep into Rezz & X1-Y2’s hive mind without mincing any words: buckle up, because we are going IN. The track chugs along flawlessly like a piston engine fueled off of pure hypnotic auditory bliss – if the experience of NOVUS in its entirety had to be wrapped up into one nutshell of a track, “Proximate” would be most appropriate. “Eternal,” though, functions as the core of the NOVUS machine: this is quintessentially industrial bass music. If we were to imagine what it could sound like for industrial heavyweights such as Nine Inch Nails, Frontline Assembly, or Skinny Puppy to make bass music – this is the blueprint. It’s visceral, unforgettable, and highly danceable. Industrial music has always thrived best on the dance floor and the way the two drops of “Eternal” wrap themselves around your ears and inspire your body to move captures the purest essence of why the genre is so special. Some might wonder why, in Rezz’s thoughtful exploration of the industrial genre, she hasn’t yet touched on the sounds of synthwave/darkwave – “ZERO” is here to assuage your concerns. Featuring a propulsive and gritty bass line, walls of synths and reverb compose Rezz and X1-Y2’s virtual vampire club they’re conjured up with “ZERO”.

NOVUS is an immense piece of work and covers an unfathomable amount of sonic territory within its four tracks, so much in fact that the EP begs for repeat listening. A lot of music contained inside of the bass music container naturally sounds like it’s from the future – that’s part of the inherent expectation we as listeners place on the genre. But Rezz and X1-Y2 sound as if they really did just come back to us from the future with the tunes on NOVUS. It’s yet another enthralling and gripping entry in Rezz’s growing oeuvre that will undoubtedly sound no less futuristic in the decades to come.