Album review: Chambers of the Naxat by one-man band Naxat

Nerd rock at its nerdiest.

Chambers of the Naxat

To appreciate Naxat and his crazy, synth-heavy music, you need to understand his wide array of influences, which span the globe from the U.S., England, Germany, and Japan and date from the late 1960s to today.

The Fort Worth native whose real name is Alex Atchley cites German band Kraftwerk and ~~U.S.~~ British band King Crimson as major influences. Both bands are of the experimental genre and revolutionized the way people performed and thought of music. Kraftwork was one of the first bands of their kind to popularize electronic music in the '70s while King Crimson dabbled in experimental rock, jazz fusion, and progressive rock.

Both bands' influences are heavy in Naxat’s new album Chambers of the Naxat, whose music has “nothing to do with any of the music from the last decade,” but almost everything to do with video games. As in video games of years past when Nintendo was in its infancy and Mario was just beginning to take over the world one super mushroom at a time. Many video game composers are personal favorites of Naxat, as well as Genndy Tartakovsky, the animator who created Dexter’s Laboratory and Samurai Jack – both huge hits for Cartoon Network some years ago and whose influences can be heard on Chambers of the Naxat, which was co-produced and engineered by Michael Dufault of the band Automorrow.

Each of the six tracks on Chambers of the Naxat is reminiscent of the video games of Nintendo’s golden era. However, Naxat’s 8-bit inspired music is on a more epic and grand scale, which includes tracks that force the listener to recall the days when synth pop/new wave band New Order took over music in the 1980s and became one of the heaviest influences of the decade.

The last two songs on the album slow down to an ambient pace. On the last track “The Black Tide,” Naxat’s vocals can be heard unexpectedly weaving in and out of the track. His vocal prowess is close to that of New Order lead singer Bernard Sumner -- but more cautious, less catchy, and off-key. Atchley isn’t exactly the greatest singer in the world, but the vocals fit.

For a man who says that no one in the DFW wanted to work with him, he seems quite content with making his distinctive sound full of experimental, synth-heavy, computer-based electronica that takes the listener on a mini adventure. It is nerd rock at its nerdiest and takes a special type of listener to appreciate his music to the fullest.