Two great things came out last week: The short story OPHRYS by Taylor Titmouse (illustrated by Nauma), and the EP Grand Reopening by Nero's Day at Disneyland.
I wish I had more time to write a review that connects these works to previous ones by the writers, artists, and musicians, and also mentions some important reviews I've read about them, their peers, and the conditions they make work in... However! Perfection is the enemy of getting things done and out there, so, here are some mini-reviews at least.
OPHRYS
Written by Taylor Titmouse, and illustrated by Nauma. Available on itch.io
Summary by Taylor Titmouse:
"After the loss of his limbs to an industrial accident, Chord Gracy has only one job on the Morpheus--provide fuel for its plant-powered engine and its picky, hungry Bloom. Though his work on the ship is invaluable, it does not make him irreplaceable, and when news comes down that the company intends to graft a new Bloom to the plant... he doesn't take it well."
Assorted thoughts from me:
Delicious, sensory, and painful... I don't want to spoil the ending in this mini-review, but I liked how it was an extreme mirror of everything within the story, like how the ultramarine lights of the ship become ultraviolet when you enter the greenhouse. Nauma's illustrations matched and augmented the prose perfectly!
Grand Reopening
By Lauren Bousfield, under the name "Nero's Day at Disneyland". Cover art by Aletiune. Available on Bandcamp.
Foreword by Jonathan Williger:
"The Grand Reopening EP is the first new music from Lauren Bousfield’s Nero’s Day at Disneyland in nearly 17 years. In the time since the release of 2009’s From Rotting Fantasylands, Bousfield has continued to make music with others and under her own name, all the while her music as Nero’s Day at Disneyland has taken on a life of its own. Its omnivorous approach to scrupulously sculpting torrents of raw musical material into roller coaster-like compositions became an antecedent to waves of producers coming to grips with the ever-shifting terrain of the internet and its effect on culture. In the Nero-world embrace of information overload, the music offers a critique of its pop-obsessed, like-accumulating native environment while absorbing its knack for attention-demanding ostentation. The raw thrill of the theme park ignites an exploitative cycle of childlike desire that ultimately ends in a drained wallet. Here Bousfield uses the tools of capitalist art against itself, becoming what she describes as an unreliable narrator that generates thrill in the name of something more nebulous and undefinable. Bousfield’s seamless return to Nero’s Day at Disneyland underlines the visionary nature of the project as it existed nearly two decades ago, and how potent its funhouse vision of electronic experimentalism remains."
Assorted thoughts from me:
I started listening to Lauren Bousfield back in 2016, and she is hands down my favorite musician ever. I'm happy to see (what I feel is) the influence of her varied collaborations and projects under her name on this Nero EP. It's hard to describe, but occasionally I would hear something new in Salesforce, her 909 Mix, commercial/OST work, or mini-things like the song "All Nite" (which I believe was a collab/remix with Baseck? Could be terribly wrong, though) finding its way into finished songs like "Permanently Closed", and say "Wow! I feel so fortunate to see an artist who inspires me evolving year to year."
Some of the tracks on this EP were also featured in the Money for Girls: Amortized OST, which is cool... Lauren Bousfield did some work on a previous Porpetine game, so it's nice to see those connections alive and evolving too.
I'll have to find the article about the Oakland (?) noise scene that influenced Lauren Bousfield (as much as she influenced it), as well as another review that looked at Salesforce or Palimpsest through an anti-capitalist lens (as opposed to just glazing the albums for how cool they sound.) When I do, I'll share them here. Those real-world things that affect the creation, purpose, and perception of art are just as important as the art itself...
These writers, artists, and musicians can only keep on doing what they do through the support of others. Please consider purchasing what they make directly through itch.io and Bandcamp, as well as spreading the word about their new work!