by Kris Handel (@khandel84)
Reverse of Mastery is the first full length release from NYC garage-psych trio Dig Nitty, and it is one that shows a band willing to wholeheartedly explore sonic and melodic territories with extraordinarily little apprehension. The exploratory feeling the music imbues allows for a wide-ranging aural trip from loping folk blues to the occasional psych-punk freak outs. Erin McGrath’s vocals swoop and flow over everything switching from a laid-back cool to pensive and dripping with emotions. Dig Nitty are a band that is hard to get a true grip on, but also thrive in alternating playfulness with despair and whatever else their moods allow for.
“Small Curd” kicks off the record with McGrath and Reggie Bender sharing vocal duties that add differing harmonies that somehow manage to meld together beautifully. Here Dig Nitty show off their loping and slightly mysterious leisure through wavering guitar lines that flit in and out along with whirring and cloudy atmospherics. “Angel Calling” also utilizes a slower pace featuring McGrath’s vocals being pushed with violins quietly swaying in the background with guitar chords interjecting intermittently. Here McGrath and company keep playing with the song’s form switching from lazy folkish strolls to hazy psych interludes and shifty little percussion shuffles in and out as the violins and guitars build little clouds of noise.
On the peppier and slightly chaotic end of the spectrum is a song like “Lomita” that you will struggle to not allow to burrow into your head with its chiming and charming melody of youthful reminiscences. The track is anchored by sprightly popping bass-work and wriggling and spiky guitar riffs from Bernardo Ochoa and Nick Llobet, respectively, that steal the show as McGrath’s vocals chirp and pop brightly. “Restraint” starts off as a knotty ball of emotion before being pierced by McGrath’s falsetto and a short stay of serenity before once again swelling up tensely and drifting into crashing cymbals and heavy guitar distortion.
Dig Nitty have crafted a record that treads its own path and plays with pacing and melodies that lead to a unique and intriguing listen. Reverse of Mastery is a record that does not want to be pinned down yet remains compelling on multiple levels and within its searching there is a lot to uncover with time. There might be moments throughout this debut that drift by and seem a little untethered, but there is always something that keeps pulling and calling for attention to be given. Dig Nitty is a band that will challenge you as a listener and on occasion confound you as well, but there is something undeniably exciting in the listening experience that makes you and the world around you a better, brighter, and weirder place.