Whereas on He Laughs About Things He Is Confused About, nahdoitagain was all about sound, a toasty conversation with the sapid equivalent of oolong tea on a cold rainy day sets the ball rolling on the beaut, before the EP’s scrutiny of sound. “it’s okay” the track title says; “it’s okay” the voice in the record agrees, just as the conversation ends and a skittering melody kicks in. Lay your head on my shoulder now; no more need for words. Maybe, like in the conversation, something goes awry and panic starts to set—“wait a minute / it’s okay,” and listen to the beaut paint an escapist landscape.
Here, nahdoitagain introduces syncopation into his identity, carved in alternative and experimental sound, as easily as he does in his compositions. Flaunting his intelligent mind, the beaut possesses a tripartite charm; one side nostalgic, one side futuristic, one side replete with all the loftiness of Tolstoy describing an indigo sky. At the album’s best, like in “Let Your Soul Shine and Your Body Dim,” it is uplifting and somewhat fantastical, speaking to listeners in ways words cannot. The track’s motif mirrors the sympatheia between Snow White and the woods. If you close your eyes, you can imagine the Disney princess humming the melody, two fingers pinching the mid-section of her skirt as she prances through the meadow, her feet barely touching the ground.
The song, “Let Your Soul Shine and Your Body Dim,” only seems to lose its innocence when the beat quickens intermittently, inducing an adrenaline surge of something close to apprehension. It’s a pleasant moment of surprise. But then it slows again, evolving into an idyllic scene of butterflies and wildflowers—a sigh of relief. With voices humming, crystals tinkling, the sul ponticello of synths, woodwind elements, and the only signature of postmodern life being a racing whooshing sound, it’s glorious. Each component used sparingly yet effectively builds towards a graceful fade out—the gentle descent of dusk into night. But the project’s escapism lives on; transcends to something sweeter—an unprecedented level of romanticism too literal in the album’s title to be unintentional.
And what could be more romantic than the unmistakable charm of French influences? Thus, the title track features French vocals layered over backup harmonies and elegant, piano-like guitar strumming. Despite lasting only one minute and sixteen seconds, “the beaut” might easily be the musical score of a period film, a woman gracefully strolling across the sandy shores of the French Riviera for its closing frame. The track’s brevity only intensifies its impact, leaving a lingering sense of wonder and longing.
In itself, the EP feels deeply inspired and intimate, bolstered by a lo-fi production using layered soundscapes, glitches, and atmospheric elements to create that immersive experience. For instance, “it’s okay” starts with a conversation between a man and his wife, small laughter here and there, muffled, like voices trapped in an old cassette tape. This warm, coffee-shop-while-it’s-storming-outside prelude takes on the character of a 1970s film, a scene of two off-course military-grade operatives stealing a moment of romance in the middle of combat, hiding behind a torpedoed car, as gun powder settles around them. If that feels too visceral, that’s exactly how the album makes you feel—as if you’re experiencing someone else’s memories as your own. The richness of the song’s distortion is combined with a consistent kick and echoing clap pattern to form a hypnotic rhythm. Wobbles through different keys swirl through the mix unpredictably, like the track is an unraveling thought process. It is the sense of “unravelling” that the next song, “fleeting,” anchors on.
With panning, the sounds are interestingly distributed across the left and right channels of the stereo field, registering half comprehensible conversations pillaring the “fleeting” effect. “I’m not gonna feel the same thing I feel for…?” he says, his voice casual, like an offhand remark in an interview, then his words become inaudible. For what? The intrigue cavernously absorbs you into the track, simulating the feeling of chasing a shooting star—a futile, but irresistible pursuit. “It comes and it goes / sometimes it comes and it stays,” he says, as if supporting this tacit thesis. Then comes a throaty, if exhausted, melodic singing of incomprehensible words. The entrance of hi-hats elevates the track further, keeping it constantly evolving within its own contained world.
Closing out the beaut, “Krying 2 (Demo),” is a stunning conclusion to nahdoitagain’s latest experiment in sonic storytelling, which differs from his previous work through its fantasy trope. A piano introduces the track, its soft, melancholic tones soon building into a post-punk rhythm, then losing the grunge, leading to another climax with what sounds like the sul tasto of a string instrument. The transition is seamless, guiding the listener through shifting emotions of serenity to angst until the EP reaches its final moment, where the effects fade, leaving only the unaltered piano as the last lingering note. The play with contrast brings an added layer of glamour and is a stunning finale to the project.
the beaut zooms into the microscopy of life’s grand opulence to obsess on the smaller features like sunshine drizzling across zinc sheets or a bleak stormcloud with the promise of electric currents coursing through its veins. Maybe on the beaut nahdoitagain is helping us realize that the beauty of living isn’t in the monumental events and is found in the inbetween—like a loving conversation—or maybe he simply wants us to be more aware of life’s little attractions, but there are no ruins here. In the end, one can sum up everything about the project in one short sentence: it is what it says it is.
