In Hollydrift's music, nothing is particularly difficult but there is no easy way out either. Walking a fine line between shoegazer pop and experimental sound collages, the songs on Then There Was Nothing suck you in. And yet they have little going for them: murky vocals, uncertain melodies, outdated synthesizers. But the complex textures in the background (Morse signals and other artifacts of communication) and the bleak atmospheres are enough to enrapture tormented souls. One thinks of Coil and Joy Division transplanted in a late-'90s CD burner-based home-label esthetic. "Wind in the Wire" sounds just a bit too dark for its own good, but the other tracks on this EP are interesting, although not as good as the full-length that followed. The last piece, "They Know Nothing," is a collaboration with Anaphylaxis. ~ François Couture, All Music Guide
