When Joshua Evans decided to move from creating textural ambient music to fronting a punk rock band, he brought a definite sense of depth and design with him. This is What Your Mind Imagines, the third outing from Evans’ group Muuy Biien, is a blend of tough-fast hardcore and airy, evocative soundscapery, a categorically unusual pairing that proves wickedly persuasive.
That shades of Minor Threat and Tim Hecker not only exist comfortably together but actually complement one another shouldn’t be all that surprising. Both styles deal in disaffected paranoia, both carry with them a tangible sense of dread—one internalizes it, subtle and protective, while the other fuck-yous it loudly into a cold and nihilistic void.
The former is exemplified by the “Emesis” series, chilly exercises in tape-space. Among Muuy Biien’s forays into the latter, there are too many standouts to list. “Vulgarities” is a one-minute track that melds ringing guitar melody and tense four-chord punk. “Sister” is even shorter (0:45) but somehow even more effective, a pogo-punk family anthem that commands the listener’s attention and then ends abruptly before it begins. This is What Your Mind Imagines is loose, brash and ridiculously alive, a too-brief and too-rare document of true vision that leaves you wanting more.
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