Nikki Nair‘s new EP may be very a lot a report for our occasions. In occasions as eventful and fast-moving as these, that phrase refers to a shorter span than it usually would—much less an period, extra a monetary quarter. The title, Violence Is the Reply, may very well be a riff on any variety of 2025’s occasions thus far, from Luigi Mangione’s alleged killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, to, extra broadly, the unprecedented stage of political violence within the U.S. over the previous 12 months. On “Clean,” Nair lazily croons, as if rubbing his temples from stress, “I simply want somebody to pay my payments whereas the violence continues.” I really feel that. I believe loads of us do. On a lighter be aware, the EP additionally incorporates a monitor about submitting taxes, which, like one thing out of a Pynchon novel, is each a jokey love music and a satire about wage slavery: “Going to work I need to stroll proper into visitors/(Simply wanna file my taxes with you)/However I do know if I did that then you definately’d need to file alone.”
{That a} dance music EP ought to have such depth and wit exhibits what makes Nikki Nair nice. The L.A.-via-Atlanta-via-Knoxville producer solid his artwork at DIY exhibits—a far cry from the nightclubs and music festivals that formed so lots of his friends. This offers his music, even when it’s completely groovy and what you may name “DJ-friendly,” a novel punkish aptitude. Stylistically, his music is gleefully unbound by conventions of style and, usually, the wants of the membership—together with by centering the lyrics, which Nair himself usually sings.
That’s maybe extra true on Violence Is the Reply than on any of Nair’s earlier releases. The report incorporates what could also be one of many strangest style mashups of all time: “Juliette,” a collaboration with Concord Tividad and Blaketheman1000 that efficiently melds twee indie vocals and guitars with stuttering footwork drums and samples of cocking weapons. This sort of scampish boundary-pushing is the EP’s energy as a lot as its weak spot. “Juliette” is a trick well-landed: a powerful feat of musical synergy, however not far more. It has not one of the character or emotional depth of the indie rock it’s drawing from. And, outdoors a basement present or, maybe, a set by DJ Bus Alternative Service, its dance flooring potential is nonexistent.
Nair has a powerful command of a variety of genres, in a position to confidently change throughout them from one report to the following. Sadly, his sound of selection this time round is a form of PC Music-style hyperpop, and although he captures its lurid funhouse vitality, his take lacks the delicate gravitas that characterizes the very best variations of this music. Additionally, whereas I can perceive how this type of demented vibe works inside the context of our deeply bizarre period, I’d personally want Brat Summer season to be somewhat farther within the rearview earlier than I may get right down to this kind of sound once more.
