Who needs lyrics? On Drift, LA-based producer Nosaj Thing’s debut album, the numerous layers of synths sonically sub in for the verbalization, creating a 37-minute instrumental masterpiece. In fact, you can even go as far as to say that words would ruin everything here. Instead of a message, these beats have a specific tonal vibe that no voice could generate. And even if one could, it just wouldn’t work as well. This listening experience is a peculiar one, as one second you can find yourself nodding your head to a Hip Hop-inspired rhythm (his 2005 song ‘Aquarium’ was actually the beat used for Kid Cudi’s ‘Man On The Moon (The Anthem)’ on the A KiD Named CuDi mixtape), while the next moment you feel the urge to lean back, simply using your ears to observe the soundscape of electronics that range from minimal and ambient (see: ‘Voices’) to more in-your-face and bold (see: ‘Light #1′).

Best taken in through a set of headphones, the album also mixes in the stay-on-your-toes approach, idling the listener as he or she waits for the impending boom to kick in. And as it does, it’s impossible to not enjoy the rhythmic transition. On ‘Lords,’ the album’s final track, the bounce hits right around the one-minute mark, and fades out as the song does, giving the audience one last taste of Nosaj’s manipulation of harmonies and melodies before fading into nothingness. Drift as a whole plays like a pensive walk around Los Angeles, with the conclusion being where the decision is made, or the destination reached.

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