Stepping into the sonic world of Anti Sucksess can often feel less like pressing play on an album and more like waking up inside a corrupted hard drive. Based in Slovenia, the experimental producer has carved out a niche where signalwave and vaportrap collide with the haunting beauty of ambient decay. His latest offering, ‘narcissist’, is a dense, eight-track exploration of the modern psyche, obsessing over the friction between our curated online personas and the inevitable emotional collapse that follows.
While his previous work on releases like ‘NARCISSYSTEM’ felt more deliberate and punchier, narcissist opts for a softer, more ethereal approach. It blurs the lines between structured music and pure atmosphere, drawing heavy inspiration from the likes of Clams Casino and Blank Banshee. Anti Sucksess treats his production as a form of worldbuilding, using "familiar threads of media snippets and digital montages through a dreamy lens" to create a space that feels both comforting and deeply unsettling.
The journey begins with ‘admire me’ and ‘covert’, tracks that immediately establish a sense of cold, fragmented emotion. There is a palpable tension here—a struggle between ego and self-awareness. On ‘self construct’, the record truly finds its feet, utilising wandering textures and lingering notes that flicker and fade with a ghostly elegance. It is hypnotic and rhythmic, yet it never feels stable, perfectly capturing the feeling of never being truly satisfied.
As the record progresses, the production takes a sharper turn. ‘false self’ strips the sound back to its gritty, static-clad basics, reminding us of the early internet aesthetics that ground this project. Meanwhile, ‘idol error’ introduces a progressive trip-hop pulse buried beneath layers of rhythmic grunge, showcasing a versatility that keeps the listener off-balance.
Despite the heavy themes of obsession and perfectionism, the release moves with a brisk energy. Each track arrives and dissipates in short, brilliantly curated bursts, ending on the hauntingly titled ‘mommy issues’. It is a quick-fire descent into a digital purgatory that feels strikingly human.
You can experience the distorted beauty of ‘narcissist’ now on all major streaming platforms. To keep up with the latest worldbuilding and visual art from Anti Sucksess, make sure to follow him on Bandcamp, Instagram, Soundcloud, and YouTube.
