When I forage for music—keeping my ears open for my next months-long obsession—I seem to discover my favorite songs in the oddest of places. It is as though I need to stumble upon something out in the wild for it to really stick. In nelward’s case, I came across him in a YouTube video, which just so happened to use his most popular song, “GHOST,” for its intro and outro.
The outro was a catchy alt-rock riff, but the intro embodied a different vibe entirely. Sonically, it read to me like the sound effects and jingle that would play upon opening the homescreen of a little-known 2000s video game and clicking the “play” button. I was surprised to learn that these were simply two different parts of the same song; I had assumed they were separate tracks entirely. Intrigued, I listened to the song in full.
It was weird and wonderful. “GHOST” was not just a peppy tune about the pain of getting ghosted; it was a constant musical experiment. The artist added anything that came to mind: wordless vocalizations, glitching transitions between each section of the song and even a “boing” sound effect. And his performance in the music video was even weirder and more wonderful, alternating between being greenscreened into settings like the default Windows XP desktop background and dancing in the middle of a fast food restaurant while holding a plastic toy guitar.
Naturally, I had to investigate further, and thus, I became a devoted fan of nelward, an Atlanta-based musician whose genre is self-described as a funky blend of electronic and art pop that strongly embraces Internet culture. It is a decent attempt, to be sure, but this does not begin to describe nelward as an artist. Not even his list of stylistic influences, which includes classic Nintendo games, jazz fusion, bubblegum pop and new jack swing, seems to clear it up. But after immersing myself in his most recent album, “nelward five,” which was released on Friday, Sept. 5, I am going to try my hand at describing that special nelward flair and what I love about it.
Most of the nine tracks on “nelward five” feature his signature “bouncy” sound, which is created by a combination of scratchy, energetic guitar riffs and a bass that seems to pop with every pluck of the strings. The songs are seasoned with a heavy-handed dose of synth, which ranges from rich, wavy chords to pinpricks of tiny bright notes that prickle in your ears. I feel that his music, overall, takes on a very physical nature. Each instrument has such a distinct texture that his songs become almost a multisensory experience.
He also likes to toss in unexpected instruments and tends to completely transform a song once it reaches its last 30 seconds, often dramatically switching tempos, instruments or even genres entirely. A great example of these techniques is “monkey moves,” the seventh track of “nelward five.” The buildup to the instrumental break is unexpectedly finished off with a resounding hit from a timpani, and in its last moments, the classic funk tune suddenly transforms into a trap beat. This playful refusal to conform to expectations is a significant aspect of nelward’s craft, and a large part of why I find his music so charming.
The fourth song of the album, “do i impress you?,” turned a genre-flipping trend on its head and struck fear into the hearts of nelward fans everywhere for about the first seven seconds of the song—not because of disturbing lyrics or unsettling visuals but because it sounded like it came straight from a Ford commercial until, mercifully, it glitched back into a signature nelward song, as though nothing ever happened. He reversed his formula, reminding us that as the artist, he can do whatever he wants at any given time. The lyrics depict admiration from afar and the melancholy of failing to grab the attention of one who has so thoroughly grabbed yours. There is longing but also a respectful distance. It is unclear what relevance the Ford fake-out has to this story of yearning. Perhaps that was one of his attempts to be impressive.
Reflecting on the meaning of nelward’s lyrics is a unique challenge in “Oh Tommy!,” the second track of the album. It is hard to tell what it is about at first. The lyrics are confusing, and the music video is absolute visual chaos, stuffed with layers upon layers of images and special effects, as though trying to give a seconds-long crash course on the entire history of the Internet. But as confusing as the video is, I believe “Oh Tommy!” is about trying to have a normal life amidst the depths of the digital age. As the video flashes pop-up ads, TikTok livestreams and even AI-generated nonsense, nelward sings about Tommy, a character who seems enviably carefree about the world. The pre-chorus rapidly fires off phrases like “And eat that ghost over and over until you’re full grown scrollin’ ya phone and gettin’ mad at a bait post.” But this is a whirlwind of concerns that Tommy seems to be above. His name is not invoked in these sections of the lyrics; he is separate from the anxieties of his peers. The world is trying to weigh Tommy down as he grows up, but he manages to shake off that burden and find peace of mind.
nelward has the amazing ability to write deeply personal and reflective songs, some lyrics of which have forced me to stop in the middle of dancing to think about them. He achieves a balance between thought-provoking lyrics and earworms that are impossible not to bop your head to. “nelward five” is no exception to this trend. His creative whimsy continues, constantly sparking surprise and reflection.