Somewhere between Los Angeles, California and the boundless expanse of our infinitely growing universe resides the Post-Rock soundscape of the artist Maybe Human. He has an eccentric creativity that spills out into all aspects of his work: audibily, visually, and with his latest release “Remains in Space,” textually. What I mean by that is that the new album is acompanied by a comic book. And just by taking a quick gander at the cover prior to reading it, I was intrigued by the artwork. The last time I covered one of Maybe Human’s releases was on the LT1KF blog in Novembert of 2022: his surreal “Planet of the Apes” concept album titled “Ape Law.” Reading the liner notes of the comic, you’l learn that Maybe Human continues to draw sci-fi-esque inspiration from that series, as well as other classics of the genre such as The Twilight Zone, X-Files, Tales From the Crypt (and more) in his storytelling and songwriting. One thing I particularly like about the comic is the pooling of artistic talent. Maybe Human brought in Manuel Boyero of Argentina (credited for artwork and costume design) and Javier Paredes (credited with Graphic Design and as the “Letterer”). There are two concurrent storylines happening while reading the comic; an overarching narrative that tells the story of an alien invasion, and an underlying one about protagonist Tanya Picket, who while distressed about a recent breakup goes out into the woods to take a break from a world that is seemingly being invaded. Inpeccable timing. At some point the two storylines come together as you’d likely anticipate, but probably not quite how you would.
As of right now, it’s one of my favorite vinyls to put on around the house as I putz around. That’s what Dads do these days. It’s a great one to blast on your speakers while outside digging in the garden, BBQ’ing, or playing in the dirt. It’s very much a seismic journey of the mind. The weather right now in the Pacific Northwest is still on the gloomy side, so I’m held up indoors more than I’d like to be at the moment. And this album, as cosmic as it is, really has me yearning to get out there in the sun. Described by Maybe Human himself as an “ambitious existential concept album,” it includes 9 tracks of progressive post-rock soundcapes. The thing I appreciate the most about Maybe Human’s overall expression is how multi-dimensional (pun totally intended) it is. I mean, I’m a fella that met his wife at Burning Man (circa ’05), so my viceral kind of reaction is to wander aimlessly outside to it. And while I could easily envision myself roaming the esplanade to the soundtrack, I could just as easily jam to it in an introspective mindset and space as well, such as writing, or reading… a comic book.
The closest thing I could liken Maybe Human’s approach to Post-Rock to is Tool. And, as written about him before, he is largely influened by Rob Zombie both musically and cinematically as well. The approach Maybe Human takes with his music also reminds me similarly of my good friend and collaborator Toby Lugo’s with his recent post-rock project Glassbeard. For fans of ambient, trippy, cinematic Post-Rock, “Remains in Space” is a must-have for not only your playlists, but for your vinyl collection.
Buy the record and digital album on Bandcamp!!
The vinyl itself is slick. A beautifully cut 12-inch L.P. I don’t know for sure if Maybe Human remastered the album just for the vinyl cut itself, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. It sounds great on that medium, I’ve listened to the new album both my record player and digitally from my Bandcamp collection a couple times now and both carry a great consistency in sound quality. It is hard to pick a favorite, but I certainly have on a couple occasions perked up with a particular interest when “Percipient Machines” had come on. Definitely “synth-sational.” That one is likely my favorite of all the tracks. I’d probably say your “heaviest” rock tracks on the the album are “Point of Cognition” and “The Mechanism of Prayer.” And “Magnetic Confinement” is the trippiest.
Lastly, I wonder about the soundbites used on this record, where on “Ape Law” I was able to reconcile and identify which movie and what line was featured on each track, I am piqued with curiosity on this record about where the female voice featured variously throughout the record dropping jewels like “triangular objects descend without hesitation,” “We had no idea what was in store for us,” and “the Earth was violated by their technology…” is from.
Follow Maybe Human Online:
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Tune-in to “Indie Anarchy” on Wednesdays starting at 7pm Pacific to hear “Percipient Machines” by Maybe Human lead off the two hour block of brand new releases by independent artists! We also have “Point of Cognition” and “Magnificent Confinement” in rotation during Bandcamping and weekend Indie Anarchy timeslots!
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