Back in 2017, Minneapolis-raised artist Jeremy Nutzman emerged with his debut project, NCOD, released under the moniker Velvet Negroni (a name inspired by a fancy cocktail at a bar in Austin). His unique soundscapes brought him to big audiences and bigger fans: sampled by Kanye West, touring with Bon Iver, and signed to 4AD for the release of his acclaimed 2019 album Neon Brown. A few years later, he is gearing up for the release of his propulsive new album Bulli, a record that trembles with a slick and polished new intensity following a relatively tumultuous life period. “I started using drugs again in a negative manner,” he says, “And felt like I lost all my friends or their respect. And then there was Covid, and I was at home, then my CashApp got hacked. And because of that I got paranoid as fuck for a long time and stayed in the house.” The result is an album on which Nutzman cannot fully hear himself. It glimmers with an almost-uncomfortable pop sheen, with lead single ‘Sinker’ whirring with a strutting positivity and rich instrumentation that is at stark odds with the lyrics. Touchstones of leftfield electronic sounds meld with nods to alternative rock, power pop, even tender R&B and deft hip-hop. It’s a record that holds something anticipatory, at times almost frantic and manic, occasionally even sexy and breathy . Given the period of his life that it emerged from, it’s understandable that Nutzman would feel fraught and uncertain listening back, it’s a deeply accomplished album which swirls with fragmentary soundscapes pushing ever forward into somewhere that feels new and vital. Index Side Track Artist Title Sub-Title 1 1 1 Velvet Negroni Pop Song 2 2 1 2 Velvet Negroni Never Said Peep 3 1 3 Velvet Negroni Pop Song 1 4 1 4 Velvet Negroni Sinker 5 1 5 Velvet Negroni Bell Clapper 6 1 6 Velvet Negroni Ebony Eggshell 7 1 7 Velvet Negroni Ballad Smaller 8 1 8 Velvet Negroni Shiny 9 1 9 Velvet Negroni Georgia 10 1 10 Velvet Negroni The Foreigner 11 1 11 Velvet Negroni Animal 12 1 12 Velvet Negroni Sub Tieties
