by Dominic Acito (@mycamgrlromance)
With lead guitar awash in reverb, steady rhythm provided by layered acoustic guitars and vocals delivered slowly and deliberately; It seems odd but also accurate to describe Nyxy Nyx’s music to be shoegaze. Especially since acoustic instrumentation is so prominent in the album. Both Nyxy Nyx and Bad History Month recorded at home and each respective side of Death Takes A Holiday maintains its own form of do it yourself charm.
It’s easy to tell when one group’s effort ends and the other begins as both artists have distinct styles. Bad History Month has lyric laden tracks versus the more drawn out vocalizations of Nyxy Nyx. Yet a strong, cohesive project is delivered on this split album. This is likely due to mutual admiration both artists have for each another. Bad History Month’s Sean Sprecher stated that he wrote “Death Takes a Holiday,” “Bad Blood,” and “Flight from Hell” after hearing the songs Nyxy Nyx wrote for this split album.
The theme of death is prominent on this record but it is much like the album cover depicts, a colorful, somewhat distorted picture of the grim reaper. The album is replete with mentions of vampires, ritual self-immolation and flights out of hell. It closes with Sean Sprecher’s imagined dying words in the distant future.
With his distinct, near percussive guitar playing style over layered with the sounds of birds chirping and shimmering guitars, Sprecher delivers his unique lyricism and despite the weighty topic of death, his track still find a way to add a semblance of levity. Even the instrumental track’s title “Ritual Condo Self Immolation Celebration” lightens the idea of the finality of death as a topic.
The album ends on a powerful note with the song “Deep Bright Future” where Sprecher describes himself as a “caveman with a flip-phone”. A recurring theme of Bad History Month is the dissonance caused by trying to remain true to oneself by avoiding time draining technology but recognizes the alienation it can cause to be disconnected from the modern world. This last song acts like a concluding statement on death, with each track acting as an argument for the final line, "okay, here’s a quote: you’re all wrong, life is long, that’s why we waste it." Then the band explodes.