Khoiba - Nice Traps

Mole Listening Pearls has always had a keen ear for downtempo, and NICE TRAPS, from Czech group Khoiba (licensed to the U.S. through StreetBeat), continues to show their talent at picking new sounds. Khoiba, in particular, shows a good bit of rock influence here, immediately evident from the electric guitars that come in on “Pure Hands.” There are also some hints of glitch, as well, from the raspy drums and squelching feedback of “No Feedback.” But these are all subservient to the mellow rhythms and Ema Brabcova’s fragile vocals. They shine with pain on “Terribly,” but it’s not a powerhouse performance by any stretch of the imagination. Instead, it seems to work much better on the icier compositions, like “T.I.M.E.” But a few compositions sound too similar, like “Make No Silence” and “Sonic Parts,” which flattens the album as a whole. But tracks like the dense “Pathetic” help relieve this feeling.