Jagjaguawar
Ruban Nielsen is a long-established figure in Australasia’s thriving psychedelic rock scene, known for creating woozy jams with a distinctly retro aesthetic. V is his most expansive project yet, a double album that sees him returning to his roots with his family in tow, his brother Kody providing the drums, and his father Chris some brief flourishes on the saxophone alongside his usual bassist Jake Portrait. The result is Nielsen’s most intimate offering yet, enraptured in the weight of his nostalgia.
Influenced by West Coast AOR, eclectic pop, and Hawaiian Hapa-haole music, Nielsen recorded the album during a period of family trauma but declared he wanted to make something “sunny and upbeat”. It’s a statement that emphatically rings true on tracks like the warm, mellow funk of ‘Weekend Run’, a wonderfully melodic 9-to-5 jam. The track’s crystal-clear production is a rarity on an album that drifts between sunny and foggy, much like Nielsen’s ruminations which float between optimism and unease.
Nielsen’s anxious melancholy has resulted in some of his most enduring hits in the past, from 2015’s disco-infused ‘Can’t Keep Checking My Phone’ to 2018’s irrepressibly catchy and paradoxically eerie and soothing ‘Hunnybee’. He treads in similar waters at times, such as on the dreamy ‘The Garden’, with its hypnotically catchy repeated mantra: “Hold on tight/’Cause it’s violent after dark/In the garden”. While a sense of paranoia weighs down the dense shimmer of ‘Nadja’: “Darlin’, I’m on this lonely road so long/I don’t know livin’ from the dead”.
The record’s emotional weight is welcome, and Nielsen’s voice drifts between downtrodden despair to nostalgic reverie. On the warped pogoing bounce of ‘Meshuggah’, he sounds especially weary and isolated: “Darlin’ reach out to me/I think I’m a metabolic island”. The opening lines of the 70s soft rock sound of ‘In the Rear View’ are particularly melancholic: “You’ll never miss it/Forget I existed”. Throughout the record, Nielsen seems to be searching for some elusive sense of closure, but there are also some enjoyable tales of nostalgia. On the skittish ‘Guilty Pleasures’, Nielsen turns a strange simile into a humorous anecdote: “You were hotter than a cheap old laptop/Just like the ones we looted from Target together”.
Created in Palm Springs, California, and Hilo, Hawaii, Nielsen impressively immerses himself in both settings and channels it through his music. The stomping, disco-dripping ‘That Life’ observes the revelry and decadence of California’s wealthy elite: “Girl in the bathroom, Florida key/Brother of cocaine, a tequila son-in-law”. While the tremolo-laden guitars on ‘Layla’ and the sunshine dripping ‘The Beach’ evoke the glorious relaxation of Hawaii. Nielsen extends his ambitions further on ‘I Killed Captain Cook’, a wonderfully tender acoustic number written from the perspective of the Hawaiian who killed him in 1779. It was a story Nielsen’s mother used to tell him as a child, and the video features her interpreting the song in her language of hula.
As well as Nielsen’s intimate offerings, the record also features several instrumental tracks, continuing in a similar vein to 2018’s free-spirited Miles Davis’ homage IC-01 Hanoi. The results are mixed; ‘The Widow’ is bright but meandering, lifted by Nielsen’s father’s impressive sax work, while the woozy psychedelia of ‘Shin Ramyun’ lacks direction. When both tracks are allowed to breathe, there are hints of lounge rock that’s evocative of French chill-out masters Air, but sadly these moments are fleeting. Thankfully, the closer, ‘Drag’, doesn’t live up to its name, with its gorgeously funky guitars and coconut-esque drumming.
Nielsen proves himself effective at creating moods and encapsulating settings, and at times you feel like you’re reclining on a beach in Hawaii. The aesthetic is enhanced by Nielsen’s trademark saturated sweetness, and few artists sound as beautiful when downbeat and downtrodden. Sometimes the record collapses under the weight of Nielsen’s ambition and could do with a bit of pruning, but Nielsen has earnt himself some indulgence. V may not be as instantly accessible as his previous offerings, but if you show patience, Nielsen’s captivating tones ensure you’ll be rewarded.