nervesandgel

Nervesandgel's albums are incredibly varied; sometimes they tend toward pop exploration, other times it's an exercise in the avant-garde. It Was All Just a Waste leans toward the latter. Opening track "Her Presence Was Felt by All" starts with shaped white noise that evolves into a dark, menacing electronic song reminiscent of the Legendary Pink Dots' most experimental moments or something Goblin might have done if stripped of all rock instrumentation. "With Bleakness in Their Eyes," meanwhile, wouldn't be out of place on an early-'80s Residents album, and "The Sky Came Alive," the record's most accessible moment, sounds like an electro-pop tune conceived by an alien civilization that's only read about such things. Haunting and challenging, like all nervesandgel releases, this one is also ultimately rewarding.