MirrorBoxx - Vision Quest Of The Technocrat

MIrrorBoxx is the instrumental project of Sean Kirkpatrick (Nervous Curtains). While other projects with similar muses as MirrorBoxx tend to focus on the idea of utopia, dystopia, or a colliding analysis of the two, Kirkpatrick takes into account the present. It's with this in mind that he fuses elements of Giallo, dub, techno, and synth and other wave genres into a blender. His first EP "Minimal Compliance" came out on Texas Recordings Underground in September of 2018. This seven track EP is the follow-up to that, and contains a very-well worded thematic description of the album over on Bandcamp. "Vision Quest Of The Technocrat" is a seven track odyssey through well put-together electronic experiments. 



The title track, with its whirring synth-lines, is a mixture of EBM-riddled pulses and retro-sounding computer generated bleeps and bloops. Gloriously kickstarting the album, it gives us a taste of what's in store for the rest of the album. Oddities and noisiness begins 'Prosperity Gospel' but it doesn't take more than a minute for MirrorBoxx to lend us a minimalistic groove. What can be described as a futuristic club-hit came with 'Human Futures Trader'. Stompy with sci-fi synths worthy of epic cinematic films, it easily became one of my favorite tracks on the EP. 

'Encampment Cleared' has a beautiful one-minute opening complete with buzzing and synthetic ambiance. Again, stompy beats pave the way for the rest of the minimal track which experimented with crunchier sounds and almost-IDM like appeal. A sort of lo-fi quality hit with 'Easy Access To Luxury Goods' as the synths warped their way throughout. 'Subject Achieves The Final Form' supported a grim tone, with synthetic lines reminding me of eighties sci-fi horrors and beyond. The last song on the album 'Don't Call It A Pyramid Scheme' is a brilliant build-up of odd synths peaking and dropping aside an electro beat. 

All of these songs, as I have mentioned here and there, are wrapped in a blanket of science-fiction brilliance and wonderful production. Never once did I find myself wishing for a better sound or for the mix to include something or another. Rather, I found myself enjoying each song with their wonderful layers of electronic brilliance. 

MirrorBoxx, then, has found a very nice niche for themselves in the electronic scene. While Kirkpatrick does keep himself within minimal beats, it is not minimal to the point where nothing is going on and a mood cannot be established. Rather, it's a wonderful romp of imaginary proportions. Seven-and-a-half out of ten! 

This review was commissioned through our Ko-fi page.
Jun 19 2021