Humanity Eats Itself on Apocalyptic NRVS EP ‘I Like You’

Anonymous post punks go outer-space & tell their tale of a fractious dystopia

Hip-Hop inspired indie rock is an interesting idea and this I Like You EP from anonymous band NRVS leans more towards the indie than hip-hop – but nonetheless its mixture of psychedelic, sci-fi and alternative musical & visual flavours does create an enticing concoction of immersive creativity.

The incessant mid-tempo beat of the title track is mirrored with a simplistic lyric but it’s when you watch the video that the song comes alive with a space themed storyline which tells a tale of scant communication between different life forms that leads on to a metaphorical melt down into insanity for the astronaut.

Then the magnificent downtempo Breeders steals the show with its dark story of reproduction and what it means to procreate. Seemingly against the concept of parenthood, NRVS, maybe by accident, have hit a erm… ‘nerve’ that Western culture is losing the drive to carry on amidst the dystopian landscape that’s fast approaching. Yet the brooding menace that hovers over this track from start to finish gives its lyric a real gravitas that’s all engrossing and leaves the listener with more questions than answers.

“Scum – a track that could easily sit in Kubrick’s masterpiece ‘A Clockwork Orange’”

Continuing with the theme of anthropological demise is Scum – a track that could easily sit in Kubrick’s masterpiece ‘A Clockwork Orange’. With its lyric that calls to mind both gang culture and a fearful underclass, Scum musically makes an instant connection with its audience as it purports to switch identities suggesting “that’s right, we’re a lot like you”. The visuals however are a far cry from any Kubrick style celluloid offering, instead inhabiting a digital universe in which an androgynous character flirts with psychedelics and a bubble-like alien – strange but undeniably enthralling.

With an electro 80s synth riff to kick off a mash-up of styles, closing track The Sane captures your attention primarily through the dystopian scenes in the video. Edgy visuals of incarceration push you to the back of your seat at first, before the band appear as sci-fi aliens further establishing their wish for anonymity. Dropping the sci-fi theme that led the visuals on previous tracks, this time the same person/astronaut is in a ‘brave new world’ in which freedom is earned and not a given. As with Scum, identities are muddled up with the perpetrator ending up the same as the victim – as to what they’re getting at here I’m not sure – but in an age of populist leaders, emerging hostilities, an overheating planet and alike, references throughout the EP do have an element of foreboding of what may be around the corner for us all.

Stream the full EP here