Album: Nelson Comes To Visit
Artist: Superdestroyer//Leave Nelson B
Released: August 23, 2024; Lonely Ghost Records
I am going to be honest with you all. This is not a review I planned to write. Life is funny like that and sometimes, unexpected things happen when you least expect it. That is exactly what happened a couple weeks ago when a promotion post came across my socials making a joke about Hall and Oats if Hall was cool. That joke was enough to get me to check out the album. The album of course was “Nelson Comes To Visit” by Surrealist punk act, Superdestroyer and Leave Nelson B. Ever since then, I have been low key obsessed….. no wait I suppose now that I am publicly writing about it the obsession has leveled up to high key. I am not really writing this review because I want too; I am doing it because I desperately need to talk about this album with someone, and my friends and family have stopped returning my texts and phone calls.
The thing that makes this album special is its big picture take on it’s sound, theme, and aesthetics. Everything from the music, art, and in the case of the special release, “green hill” variant even physical product work together to invoke a sense of nostalgia that almost transcends reality. “Nelson Comes to Visit” is an album that must be experienced as a whole package. I’m not just talking about a beginning to end listening session, though you definitely should do that. Each track comes with an unique piece of art that is reminiscent of early 90s JRPGs. This art really helps set the mood for the track and helps tell the story. This makes listening to the album on Soundcloud the optimal digital experience in my opinion, since each track is set to showcase the corresponding art. Something I assume Spotify can’t do. Of course, the absolute best whole package experience is the physical “green hill” variant that is a mock up of a SEGA cartridge and comes complete with an art and lyrics book. It is honestly something that is profoundly cool. So if you have a chance to pick one up, you should.
It is quite hard to pick a selection of songs to talk about as they all are super cool, but alas that is a task I’ve given myself, so I will start with the first song on the album. “Start Screen” does a great job setting up the vibes and expectations. Like the rest of the album, it is a chiptune synthy bop with a great beat. It is the definition of what it says it is on the tin; 34 seconds that gets you jazzed up and excited for the adventure you are about to partake in.
My favorite song on the album is “Snow” a song that crafts atmosphere as if it were trying to terraform Mars. The synth melody and the whirl sounds that opens the track all coalesce into making you feel encapsulated in a snow storm. The lyrics speak of falling in love and really pull together a metaphor of being encapsulated in love much is like a snow storm. It’s a feeling of eerily peacefulness with a hint of danger.
There is as a pretty cool guitar bit in “Halloween City” that I think bares mentioning. The music is up beat and there is an effect used throughout that I’m not sure what it actually is but it reminds me of a duck and it’s pretty cool. The message of the song is also great and is about finding a person that sees you for who you actually are despite the ‘mask” you wear and more importantly they have always accepted you for your real you.
Nelson Comes to Visit is such a unique and innovative take on electronic music and 90s nostalgia that it is hard not to stand mouth agape in awe while listening. It is a true magnum opus in how it executes its music, themes, and aesthetics. I bet that Superdestroyer continues to deliver amazing music, but it is honestly hard for me to imagine something this cool happening more than once in my lifetime. Anyway, thanks for indulging me, I’m off to fire up my Switch and play Earthbound while listening this album at max volume.
This Review was originally posted on December 06, 2024 on the former LFDH substack.
