Glowing faintly at the bottom of his luck, Sean O’hara home records (in
Mississippi, of all places) as Nadir Bliss, a bedroom project flecked with dust
and the space of rooms. Laying his tracks to tape apparently held together by
scotch tape and glue and paper clips and stuff, O’hara emits homespun charm at
every turn, in every second. What didn’t make the cut to “Everything but
Everything”? Potentially nothing, as this scrapbook of fragile emotion crinkles
and crackles as pages turn, crumbling at the weight of human touch.
On the brink of the season, this makes great incidental music for a sad
summer. Teenagers wallowing in contemplation and uncertainty need this to
accompany their thoughts. You might be surprised how many of them would rather
listen to this than burst out of their skins while spinning some aggressive
rhythmic nonsense. Catharsis is overrated. Let the weird feelings simmer.
Oh, wait, you’re taking my word for it on what teenagers are thinking?
Ha! That’s a bad idea. I’m just projecting me now onto my stupid idiot teenage
self and wishing I had the emotional depth required to understand, let alone
make, “Everything but Everything.” I wouldn’t have had the patience.
Although I wish I did.
This song cycle spans twenty-seven short tracks, each one a fabric
square in a patchwork sound document that’s beautiful in its completion.
Ramshackle, frayed, but beautiful.
--Ryan
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