It’s hard not to get a little giddy about the release of The Unnatural World, considering the six-year wait since Have A Nice Life’s previous LP. Deathconsciousness was one of those rare albums that completely knocked you flat after just one listen, before allowing pursuers to get acquainted with its intricacies on repeated spins.
The second record from the Connecticut duo operates in a similar way. The multi-instrumental talent of both Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga make them masterful in painting a dark, intriguing soundscape, and one that eventually consumes the listener right until the end.
‘Guggenheim Wax Museum’ opens the record on a very perturbed, almost gothic note, before completely changing direction into a more post-punk influence. Static-sounding guitars and hollow drums back the dual vocals of Barrett and Macuga on the likes of ‘Defenestration Song’ and ‘Unholy Life’.
Despite this, The Unnatural World is teeming with genre variety, with more post rock elements coming into play during the centerpiece of ‘Cropsey’, which parallels gorgeously with some of the more subtle shoegaze elements littered throughout the record.
Across the 48 minutes, Have A Nice Life manage to hammer in a sense of desolation, and yet it’s the beautiful closer of ‘Emptiness Will Eat The Witch’ that rounds out the record with a sense of lifeless elegance. This is mainly due to the soft strummed guitar bewitchingly repeated throughout the track’s eight minutes.
Have A Nice Life have crafted an album that screams simplicity, yet remains daringly intricate with its hellishly beautiful soundscapes. It’s a slow-burner, but that just makes The Unnatural World all the more rewarding.
Listen to ‘Defenestration Song’ from The Unnatural World here:
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