These days, literally anyone with a laptop and an ounce of creativity is able to create their own compositions. It takes luck, talent, and the right connections to stand out from the crowd, and fortunately Nick Zanca, a student at Chicago’s Columbia College possesses all three. His project under the moniker Mister Lies had its first full length release recently in the form of Mowgli.
What we hear on Mowgli is compelling, yet at times borders on the bizarre and pretentious. The mood hangs precariously in this balance throughout the eight tracks. For whatever reason though, the more I get into this gig as a critic, the more I become drawn to the glitchy, trip hop side of the ambient/electronic music paradigm. “Ashore” finds itself drifting in a proverbial ocean of beats, in relative calm before the whole thing crashes ashore in a “SWOOSH!” of synthesizers. It is like Zanco is imploring us to pay attention – we might miss out on all the intricacies of Mowgli if we completely space out.
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Ironically, though, some of his compositions seemed groomed exactly for making people space out. “Align” is a great example of this, with its valleys of distorted “ahhs” that envelop the listener’s senses. “Lupine” does this well also – with its repetitive programmed cymbal/snare beats and low, brooding hums of the synthesizer. “Dionysian” hearkens to the earlier exhortation to pay attention with its low, distorted male vocals while “Canaan” is a creepy interlude that frankly does more to turn me off of repeated listens than anything. “Ludlow” has a pensive theme that becomes repetitive after a while while “Hounded” takes the best of each concept presented in the first portion of the record and spins them together seamlessly. “Trustfalls” has a reflective, minimalist vibe that closes out the record.
Despite the oversaturation of the market, Mowgli seems to indicate that Zanco knows what he’s doing. Mowgli is worth your consideration.
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