It took me a few listens to really understand what I was hearing with this new release from NAG. Since 2016, the Atlanta, GA group has been cranking out release after release of post-punk-infused dark, brooding punk. This cassette sounds nothing like that. I had wondered if perhaps NAG was doing an atmospheric, moody soundtrack to a film noir project or something. As it turns out, the eight songs on Helium Messiah began as a collection of demo recordings made by NAG singer Brannon Greene. Embracing the shift from their standard form, the demos were finished entirely as a solo recording, backed by a strangely underwater-sounding drum machine.

The songs are slow-building and repetitive, gradually layering new parts onto themselves as they flow. There are catchy guitar hooks woven into the repetition, along with tastefully placed vocal lines that break through the haze. The gradual development of each track is the most interesting part of this release. “VCR Repair” is my favorite of the batch, perhaps because of its nod to analog media, but also because it sounds like it could be a TOTAL CONTROL song.

The title Helium Messiah seemingly references the affected vocals throughout the recording. Greene wasn’t actually huffing helium before each take, opting for the less hypoxic option of a vocal pitch shifter to get the effect. On “Acknowledge the Cat Eye”, the result sounds remarkably similar to the voice effect coming out of Princess Leia’s helmet when she shows up to Jabba’s Palace to attempt to rescue Han from carbonite. As a Star TREK fan, this is a sentence I truly never expected to write. I have, however, considered doing a similar project and recreating the garbled voice we hear emanating from the helmets of the Breen soldiers in Deep Space Nine. Will we ever fully know why they wear those refrigeration suits?

I do appreciate the versatility on display here, but this specific release comes off a bit too artsy for me. NAG’s previous cassette, Fear, was perhaps my favorite thing they had done to date, and I found myself missing that version of the band while listening to this. Helium Messiah is an interesting departure, but ultimately left me wishing for something with a little more weight to it.

Label: Scavenger of Death Records

Band: NAG