Cipher Productions

Human Nature Denied produces a lightning rod in Phillips’ massive body of work, one that clearly distills the message Phillips instills in each new album: the world only feels safe to some because it is made unsafe for others. And to be comfortable is to be complicit in the violence that produces our world. Recognizing this capacity within oneself forces a change in how we view ourselves, and when we turn our gaze back on ourselves after this reckoning, the uncanny can settle in as a we see something in ourselves that was always there, that should feel immediately recognizable, but not quite. Therein lies the source of terror that Phillips connects us to again and again. This is why listening to Human Nature Denied leaves us with a deep pit in our stomach, one that will eventually be filled by the bacteria we conveniently ignore when we see ourselves as human.

Fantastic and highly recommended new work.