A BOI – aka the cleverly named Absolutely Bereft Of Imagination – is the latest project from Austin Texas artist, TaSzlin, better known as one third of the uncompromising social justice warrior trio, BLXPLTN. With A BOI he examins his more meditative side, and his latest track, ‘See Through’, is dreamily electronic, and altogether trippy.
It’s probably going to take a minute or two for fans of BLXPLTN to get used to the mellow sounds Tasz is bringing, just his smooth vocals accompanied by a piano, funk guitar, and drums, but they will quickly see he hasn’t changed too much.
Tasz is still the same confrontational artist behind ‘New York Fascist Week’, and ‘Education Destruction’, but rather than the horror iconography that is common to BLXPLTN’s videos, ‘See Through (Chapter 1)’ is chilled, and relaxed, with a vibe reminiscent of music of an earlier age, grungey protest songs of the 60s, and the darker 70s and 80s music from England, such as that made by New Order, The Cure, or The Smiths.
The video is haunting: shot in a forest, animal skulls, open skies, piano playing quietly, then we see a stabbing, and a spectral form rising from the dead body – the see through person of the lyrics. The music is ethereal, with piano, synths, drum loops, and echoing vocals. Beautiful as it all is, we’re left a little disturbed by it all. Far from being Absolutely Bereft Of Imagination, we feel he’s very imaginative indeed.
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