If you’re searching for a sci-fi opera of Orwellian proportion, then look no further than the UK’s Nrvs and their four track EP, I Like You.
I Like You contains previously released tracks, “I Like You”, “Breeders”, and “Scum” plus the unreleased, “The Sane”. It also concludes the story of a mystified astronaut played by Julia Vandoorne who is trying to find her way back.
Back to exactly where or what is unknown?
On the EP, vocalist Ten Pence says,
“It’s not a concept record but it does have arcs and we’ve used this set of videos to pull all the songs together into a narrative. As for the actual idea behind the record, for me… people talk about the apocalypse but it’s already happened in my opinion. There’s just a delay on it: the bomb’s gone off and we’re experiencing this weird still pause, birdsong and all, between detonation and the shockwave hitting us!”
Ten Pence may have been inspired by Wu-Tang Clan to make the music but his vocals in the title track has echoes of Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction. There’s a wonderful tinny sound from the drums in “I Like You” that allows the trembling bass and guitar to bellow and snarl in a visceral and guttural reaction to not only Ten’s voice but to the lyrics.
Like the video for “Breeders”, the song continues the storyline. This time the ballad-esque track offers a sombre and chaotic look at the collapse of the world.
Those who are fans of the HBO show Doom Patrol may recognise the post-pink vibes of “Scum”. While the song looks at what it means to be a human, it does so in such a delicious and groovy way that it almost seems like it’s admiration of the human race versus admonition.
Ten expands on the track,
“Us lot just happen to be feeling it at the moment cos we’re alive now, so we’re the toppest layer of the pond… scum, get it?”
On the closing track’s evolution, Ten says this of “The Sane”,
“Originally the track was about self-imposed cultural & societal conformity, like that self-imposed, straightjacket we all live our lives in and how that plays out in the ‘modern’ ‘dating’ ‘game’ but then over time, and in collaboration with GrainFreeze, The Sane’s meaning evolved into something more: the ‘soft sell’ of conformity, became the ‘hard cell’ of [emerging] data-assisted fascism; ‘We’re the same’ became ‘We’re The Sa.M.E.’ (Safety Management Executive) and who suffers first and most? Does it need to be said? Ok then: black people, brown people, queer people and women.”
With “The Sane” Nrvs ends the I Like You EP with a powerful and confronting statement. One that leaves us uncomfortable in our skin, but also challenges us to think beyond our mere existence.
And what about the astronaut? One will have to discover by watching the video (available below).
I Like You is a brilliant psychedelic journey through vulnerability and what makes humanity tick.
