A-OK is out now!
Image: Michael Hanano.
California-based artist NUFFER has shared his debut EP, A-OK. To celebrate the release, the musician is taking MILKY through the release, track by track!
Speaking of the release, the musician says the EP “was a search to find something three-dimensional, writing about myself and how many paradoxes there can be in love and life. How I can make fun of something, but have it come from a place of authenticity and humility because at the same time, I see myself in it.” He continues, “Whether that be a deadbeat from San Diego, a nihilistic college grad, or a basement show attendee, it’s fun to poke at. But at the same time, I’m not too high and mighty to really dig, because I’ve had a piece of these things in my life.”
NUFFER SUPER INTRO
I wanted the EP to open with something that contrasted the rest of the energy of the EP, talking about my long distance 2 year relationship between me and my partner. It’s about how astounding it is to see your partner again, how they can almost feel unfamiliar at first, and relearning the love you knew after being gone for so long.
BIG BRAIN
Shortly after I dropped out of college, I had a dinner conversation where I was told that the only way I could achieve happiness would be through a college degree. But when I looked around the table, all I saw were a bunch of people who had followed this traditional path and ended up nihilistic and lost in their own life, leading to the line “if I got a degree maybe, I could lose any reasoning”. Big Brain is about defying those traditional expectations, and focusing on a pursuit of what makes me happy.
TINNITUS
Tinnitus reflects on how some longtime friendships can later become one way streets. So much of this song is me trying to quell my anxieties of feeling stagnant and taken advantage of. I try to convince myself that if I stuck around long enough a relationship would ultimately get better, “I wait for you boy inside a room with tinnitus noise, no, I’m starting to mind” but the waiting period begins to wear me out.
BLOWHARD
Blowhard tries to encapsulate my inability to trust and believe I could love or be loved. In the past I’ve screwed up so many relationships, romantic and platonic, this led me to believe I maybe didn’t deserve one. It’s about masochism found in relationships, when even if something is going perfectly and you are experiencing joy, you question the authenticity.
SPIRITS
This song is an homage to days playing basement shows, but also is a warning that gatekeepers and manipulators can permeate in communities no matter how safe or niche they feel. Harmful people can sneak their way into these open and loving communities, and sometimes the communities can be taken over. It’s about struggles to maintain a safe space for DIY scenes, and trying to spot and purge toxicity.
DEADBEAT
Deadbeat is a take on the classic hometown anthem. It’s a love letter to my hometown San Diego while simultaneously grappling with my own qualms of feeling like a “deadbeat” still living there. Here, complacency runs deep, “I just see too many high school friends sunburnt, uptight” and is a plea for myself and everyone around me to get out and chase something better.
GRIFTER
This song is about my experience watching someone who is in obvious need of community and love, hyper focusing on superfluous cash. It’s a capitalist cautionary tale, about a man who loses sight of his wife, family, and friends to greed.
A-OK is out now!