Have you ever find yourself thinking that sometimes neither a good pair of headphones, nor a very good sound system are quite enough to wholly relish certain tracks? When I stumble across compositions so detailed and masterfully crafted such as this new Kizer album, I feel the need to experience those vibes with all my body. Try to think about what it would be like to transform an album into a multisensory experience. Imagine being in an acoustically treated room, with temperature and atmospheric conditions synced with the music and, of course, a VR viewer to properly enjoy the visuals.
I’m ready to bet that Off Beat Still Vibin’ would be for sure one hell of an experience. And honestly, there’s nothing that could convince me of the contrary since in its 25 minutes there’s so much inventiveness packed in that could be enough to create a whole short movie out of it. This album is an authentic artistic performance sculpted in sound by Kizer, that offers us a different adventure with each one track. For example, the whipping sounds of ‘Formulate’ evoke to me the impetuous driving winter wind in the icy polar expanses. With its muscularity as well as its contemplative breaks, ‘Don’t Forget’ reminds me of the mountains among which I live; so spectacular and majestic to admire but so full of pitfalls hidden among their imposing sides. The sound pulsations of ‘Press Play’ instead, bring desert landscapes to my mind, where the unbearable heat of the sun blurs the boundary between reality and hallucination. ‘Bleed’ is such an intricate explosion of synth, groove, and low frequencies that it reminds me of the Etna when it shows all its mighty power. If you are hoping to find a moment of pause in this 10-track journey, I have to warn you. You’ll rest only in the last chapter, ’11 11,’ where Kizer unexpectedly dabbled in the creation of a mellow lo-fi beat.
My advice is this. Take half an hour out of your day in a dark room to fully savor the mastery of Kizer’s debut album. You won’t probably experience the album in the same way I did, but certainly it will be an intense escapism adventure that you won’t regret. Stream Off Beat Still Vibin’ below or on your favorite platform here.
