Melancholic Masculinity: “Nostalgia” (No, Really)

Sometime in the past month and a half, the CUZ ME PAIN label went from three established artists joining forces to also incorporating a slew of upstarts dabbling in the same sound. We already looked at THE BEAUTY the other day, so now we turn attention to Melancholic Masculinity. Splitting time between Tokyo and New York, MM’s “Nostalgia” instantly signals a shared similarity with the rest of the PAIN label. This song (plus most of the label’s other acts, for that matter) could be confused for chillwave…that song name doesn’t help matters much…but it’s less about being “chilled out” and rather about “feeling a chilly wind crawl up your spine. “Nostalgia” sounds creepy – the beat pounds away like a murderer at your front door while some offsetting keyboard notes dart across the song. Eventually, a fuzzy sample appears and makes the whole thing even more uncomfortable. If most chillwave uses nostalgia as an escape, MM turns “Nostalgia” into something that hunts you down. Listen here.