A_I - Nanoo

This project treads a worn path of melding heavy dubstep with other more left-field genres, but it still manages to do it in a pretty unique way.

Nanoo's debut record "A_I" is an underground dubstep record with high ambitions. Released on the label Reinelex, "A_I" is a dense amalgamation of crushing, abrasive bass music, complete with your typical dark undertones and genre switchups. The latter, however, goes above and beyond. "A_I" sees Nanoo delve into a myriad of unorthodox ideas to keep the record above the water, whether that be the psytrance opening of "Awake" or the synthwave fusion of "Reality Engine", alongside plenty of creative track structuring and dynamic ideas like the roaring "Nuclear Meltdown". Each track brings something new and something interesting to the table, a trend I very much appreciate in a modern dubstep landscape that lacks variety, and a trend that gives "A_I" a very promising innovative quality to it. On the other hand, the more vanilla dubstep/filthstep tunes are, well, filthy. Tracks like "The Dark Sun" are extremely dense and compacted, facemelting and abrasive and not without their share of different drops and switchups. Nanoo's flow and rhythm is very good, and the dubstep is pacy and aggressive, providing a very strong foundation to allow the more unorthodox tracks to fully shine, but also just giving "A_I" that belligerent tonality it so desperately needs—a tonality perhaps subverted by the final two tracks, both of which are more hopeful and subsequently melodic, but a consistently belligerent tonality nonetheless. Unfortunately, tonality and diversity is where the praise finishes. "A_I", whilst it thrives on unique structural choices within each track, the album as a holistic project struggles to find its structural footing. Which is disappointing, honestly, because Nanoo had a lot more in him to bring a sense of proper cohesiveness to this project, with its dark undertones and intruiging themeing and whatnot—but ultimately, "A_I" is disjointed and lacks that solid narrative (or at least a comprehensive atmosphere) that would have really given it its time in the limelight.

Aside from cohesiveness problems, "A_I", despite aiming to be filthy, may have overdone it a little in places, and, as a result, the project falls short of being polished. I can't deny, though, that Nanoo's experimentation is commendable, and the complementary dubstep is equally disgusting, landing his debut record as a pretty solid record overall. If you want some nasty underground dubstep with a penchant for novelty, "A_I" is a good contender.