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Robert Nix - Once In A Blue Moon (Self-Released)

21 March 2016

Robert Nix is an alternative artist from Toronto who has just released his fifth album, _Once In A Blue Moon__. The album seems to be designed for music nerds, the artist behind it ostensibly being one himself. Inspired by a wide array of post-punk icons like Joy Division, Gary Numan, and Talking Heads, Nix’s vision is like a psychedelic version of gothic rock. The two genres seem diametrically opposed to one another—post-punk more often than not defying every characteristic of the acid rock that came before it—but Nix deftly interweaves the two, and finds the common threads unexpectedly shared between them.

Once In A Blue Moon is a dark record, even by Joy Division’s standards, and the less than traditional nature of Nix’s songwriting makes it feel even more abstract. Yet it cries out for a closer inspection, and it rewards generously upon repeated listens. The album is filled out with two tracks that seem comparatively unnecessary, the quirky left-of-center instrumental “Dad’s Song,” and the self explanatory “Real Time Drum Solo. Both distract somewhat from an otherwise unified vision, but for the most part Once In A Blue Moon is a focused and darkly joyous paean to gothic rock.