"BYSTANDER" - _Pozu

A really entertaining listen showing off the talent and the potential of _pozu

BYSTANDER is _pozu's first EP and even with the short run time of 11 mins and 23 seconds, the project feels like it's able to showcase so much in so little time without it feeling like it breezes by you without you noticing. The ideas here are unique and the this EP is a really great showcase of _pozu's lyrical and producing talents

"Love" is the first song off the EP and it begins with this nice piano sample and then the beat drops and this choir like singing starts. as a rap song, the structure is so easy on the ears. It doesn't drag on too long or go by too quick and the voice changes keep it even more interesting. Then we have to song "Fly" which is my favorite off the EP. It has this really joyful sound to it but the lyrics are far from that. _pozu's rapping on this song is the best in my opinion and the beat just makes it even better. I wish the main song was a little bit longer than 1:15 but at it's lenght it just makes it even more replayable. Then there's the track "Feel (interlude)" which is this really beautiful and almost heavenly track with this huge thump as this ethereal choir builds up but then this dark piano starts playing, It feels like you're looking up at heaven and then you start falling slowly into hell and then the song "Bystander" begins. The song has this dark sound and the lyrics are dark aswell. The final track on the song is "Don't Go" which is a really beautiful sounding song with this singing sample. The whole album is a really enjoyable listen. The EP is really interesting and it doesn't all just sound the exactly the same and of course since it is an EP it doesn't drag on with boring filler tracks which is always appreciated.

I really liked the EP but it's not a completely perfect project. The first issue I heard while listening to it was the harmony backup vocals in "Love" It's a bit too loud and instead of being backup vocals it goes a bit too close but the bigger issue is how hard it is to understand what is being said in the foreground. I think what would have helped was lowering the mix of the backup vocals and lowering the reverb a bit on the main vocals so you could understand what was being said better. This problem with not knowing what is being said is truly the only problem I find. The song "Fly" has this same issue but at the ending. You can understand every other word that's being said in the voicemail but most of it is buried and the same happens at the end of "Don't Go". The rapping on the EP is clear and easy to understand but the skits on this EP and the chorus of "Love" are just unintellible which is a shame because I would have loved to know what was being said. Of course this issue could be fixed with adding lyrics that you can see but it is really important to make it possible to understand the song without needing the lyrics right in front of you.

All in all though. This EP is a really enjoyable project and it showcases a potential for something even greater than what was made here. I think this is the start of something special but it all just depends on whatever _pozu does next. The ideas on here are great, the lyrics are great and the overall listen is really fun and all that really needs work is the mixing and I hope for next time we get to hear an album maybe because a project by _pozu longer than 11 minutes would be an absolute treat, especially if it's as varied and well made as this. So with all that being said, I'm giving BYSTANDER by _pozu a

7/10

Favorites: Fly, Feel (interlude), Bystander

Least Favorites: Love [chorus], Don't Go [outro]

(This review was written on September 21st, 2022)