What Ails You
New Amsterdam, 2025
8/10
This debut album by the composer and producer Essvus (Gen Morigami) tackles struggles with mental health, familial estrangement, and becoming reacquainted with art, creation, and community, and it includes plenty of noisy, artistic sounds.
“Inner Violence” starts with plenty of beats populating the rhythmic, electronic ambience that could suit a late night at the club, where warm piano is present, and “To Not Think” follows with a strong drumming presence and ambient vocals that floats like an ominous dream.
“Never Here” and “Moldsporing” land in the middle. The former offers an infectious energy that’s glitchy and buzzing, while the latter is a busy and textured bout of techno influences, underlying melody and some sci-fi nods.
“Hell And High Water” lands near the end, and offers a brighter mood before the waves of atmosphere and droning enter, and “Counterfactuals” exits with voices used like an instrument amid the swirling energy and harmonic backdrop.
Somewhere between IDM, techno, industrial and avant-garde rock, Essvus is a cult survivor that is sorting through trauma via these fragmented, warped and pitch bending sounds that you’re not going to hear anywhere else.
Travels well with: Ruby Colley & EXAUDI- Hello Halo; Daniel Wohl- Artificial