With Optic Sink, Natalie Hoffmann (NOTS) creates a musical paradox: an endeavor that doesn't really seem to belong to any particular time or place, constructed with sounds that are synthesized and stripped down, yet bristling with urgency and brutalist emotion. The project took shape in 2018, when NOTS were on a break to write and woodshed music for 3, and Hoffmann began experimenting on her four-track recorder. Optic Sink surfaced as a performance soon after, appearing at bars, venues and festivals, including Memphis Concrète and SXSW.Hoffmann drives Optic Sink in live performances and on the self-titled debut album, with percussionist Ben Bauermeister (Magic Kids, Toxie, A55 Conducta) collaborating from the co-pilot's seat. Setting up camp on the post-punk side of the minimal electronic scene, Optic Sink eschew computers for a warmer, decidedly human soundscape. Hoffmann's power, and the tension she generates between human and machine, evokes Maria, the rebellious teacher-turned-Maschinenmensch in Fritz Lang's Metropolis, and Ripley, the swaggering, sacrificing heroine of Ridley Scott's Alien franchise. Dadaism and the Bauhaus movement could both be cited as influences; so might the existentialist philosophy of Simone de Beauvoir and the jump-cuts of Maya Deren.Written over a two-year period, the eight songs that comprise Optic Sink sound like they should've been recorded in a bathysphere or on a space station-instead, they were captured via analog tape at Andrew McCalla's Bunker Audio studio in summer 2019. Bauermeister's inventive aux percussion and drum machine work provides the backdrop, while Hoffmann stokes a proverbial furnace in the foreground, dryly revisiting and repeating words and phrases until they're imbued with portent. Hoffmann's synthesizers add texture with growls and shrieks, often mutating danceable rhythms into shimmering walls of sound. Optic Sink defy categories, shape-shifting from cold wave to psychedelia to distorted noise rock. In the process-which frequently occurs in a single song-Optic Sink claim unchartered territory as they cathartically fragment and reassemble sounds, concepts, and verbal constructs. The conflict they define is life in America in 2020, finding beauty in the journey despite what the final resolution might be.
Install our app to receive notifications when new upcoming releases are added.

Recommended equipment and accessories
-
Nagaoka MP-110H Cartridge
Features a high-quality elliptical stylus that provides excellent tracking and minimizes distortion, delivering a detailed sound reproduction with an output voltage of 5.0 mV
-
Ortofon 2M Red Cartridge
Features an elliptical stylus that accurately tracks the grooves of vinyl records, delivering a rich, detailed sound with an output voltage of 5.5 mV
-
Edifier R1280DB Powered Speakers
Combining classic design with modern Bluetooth connectivity, built-in amplification and versatile inputs, these speakers deliver rich, balanced sound.
-
Denon DP-400
Featuring a high-precision, belt-driven mechanism and an adjustable tonearm that ensures optimal tracking and minimal resonance
-
Vevor Ultrasonic Cleaner
Thoroughly clean and restore your vinyl records, removing dust, dirt, and grime from every groove without damaging the surface
Featured Upcoming Vinyl
-
Gotan Project Inspiracion Espiracion
Diggers Factory
October 17, 2025 -
Harvey Sutherland Debt
Clarity
October 10, 2025 -
JID God Does Like Ugly (Ruby 2Lp) (Amazon Exclusive) [2xLP]
Dreamville / Interscope
October 17, 2025 -
Revocation New Gods, New Masters
Metal Blade
September 26, 2025 -
The Lemonheads Love Chant
Fire Records
October 24, 2025 -
Amanda Shires Nobody's Girl
Ato Records
September 26, 2025 -
Battle Beast Steelbound (Transparent curacao blue)
Nuclear Blast
October 31, 2025 -
Earl Sweatshirt Live Laugh Love
Warner Records
October 24, 2025 -
Ruston Kelly Pale, Through The Window (Supersonic)
Rounder
September 26, 2025 -
Oasis (What's The Story) MORNING GLORY? (30Th Anniversary; Deluxe Edition) (Exclusive) [3xLP]
Big Brother Recordings Limited
October 3, 2025 -
HARDY COUNTRY! COUNTRY! [2xLP]
Big Loud Records
September 26, 2025 -
Elvis Presley That's The Way It Is (Red)
Music On Vinyl
October 10, 2025 -
Memphis May Fire Shapeshifter
Rise Records
October 31, 2025 -
Wavves Spun
Many Hats Dist
October 3, 2025