Darkside’s Nothing is an experiment in breaking familiar sound apart and piecing it back together in ways that feel alien. The brainchild of Nicolás Jaar and Dave Harrington, this project has always existed in the liminal space between psychedelic rock, electronic music, and jazz. But with Nothing, they take their deconstructionist tendencies even further. The music constantly shifts, pulling listeners in with recognizable elements before twisting them into something new and unknown. With the addition of drummer Tlacael Esparza, the rhythmic foundation is stronger than ever, adding a tactile quality to an otherwise elusive record.

The album thrives on a sense of disorientation. It moves between moments of clarity and complete sonic abstraction, like a radio signal fading in and out. Tracks like Slau and Are You Tired? (Keep on Singing) highlight this best—building a groove only to drop the listener into an entirely new space without warning. The latter track, in particular, is a masterclass in juxtaposition, shifting from dense electronic textures into a Grateful Dead-esque guitar passage before plunging back into darkness. This kind of unpredictability defines Nothing, making it feel like a record in constant motion.

Esparza’s drumming plays a crucial role in holding the album together. His presence adds an organic looseness to the album’s otherwise synthetic and manipulated soundscape. Tracks like Heavy Is Good For This balance traditional instrumentation with warped effects, building tension and release without ever fully resolving. Meanwhile, Hell Suite, Pt. I starts as a chaotic jazz improvisation before slowly congealing into a groove, with Jaar’s vocals floating above it all like a ghostly transmission. His reworking of John Lennon’s Imagine into the lyric “Imagine all of the people, living in hell. Does it take much?” adds a dark irony to the track’s already eerie atmosphere.

Beneath its technical experimentation, Nothing carries a distinct emotional weight. There’s a tension between control and chaos, between moments of warmth and total disarray. The album feels like an exercise in letting go—of expectations, of musical convention, even of melody itself at times. Tracks like Sin El Sol No Hay Na and American References embody this push and pull, where familiar rhythms and grooves are slowly eroded by distortion and abstraction. The record’s unpredictability mirrors the way memories or dreams distort reality—things start off recognizable but quickly dissolve into something more surreal.

Ultimately, Nothing is an experiment into building a record from free-form elements and distorting them to the edge of recognition. It embraces the unexpected, dismantling genre tropes and twisting them into something entirely its own. Demanding active listening, we’re offering moments of groove and melody but never get too comfortable. In a landscape where so much music aims for immediacy, Nothing is a refreshing exercise in disorientation, rewarding those willing to let go and get lost in its unpredictable soundscape.

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