Burial Woods, 'Pink Forest' 

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• Courtesy
• Burial Woods, Pink Forest

(Self-released, digital)

Last winter, Burlington's Nathan Nowak-Meunier, aka Burial Woods, sought a seasonal depression cure in the world of modular synth — a potential rabbit hole, given that modular synths are endlessly variable and customizable. Struck by inspiration once their setup was locked in, the artist embarked on their new EP, Pink Forest, which they wrote, performed, recorded, mixed and mastered.

Queer and nonbinary, Nowak-Meunier explores their evolving identity on the EP's six tracks, delving into themes of dysphoria, self-reflection and resilience.

Pink Forest's frosty, hard-edged industrial synth-pop and goth-tronica recall Twitch-era Ministry, Depeche Mode's Black Celebration and the Pretty Hate Machine days of Nine Inch Nails. The EP is dark, moody, razor-sharp, full of angst and served on a bed of dry ice.

Opener "Superimposer" is a frigid, mid-tempo banger with a driving, almost maddening slew of slashing beats and buzzes. In a syrupy baritone, Nowak-Meunier utters phrases such as "angles of time," "beyond the veil" and "entropy rises inside" like they're part of a ritual or incantation.

Lopsided beats and synth drones converge on subsequent slow burn "Gestation," while follow-up "Melancholia" transitions from featherlight synth-pop to a pressurized maelstrom.

The fourth track, "Ascalapha Odorata," stands out as the collection's primary anthem. Its title, the scientific name for the black witch moth, references the classic 1991 film adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs, in which mentally ill serial killer and latent trans woman Buffalo Bill places the moth's pupae in the mouths of his victims.

When the film came out, queer and trans people were furious at yet another on-screen depiction of queerness as monstrousness. Thirty-odd years later, queer folks are still othered, as Nowak-Meunier notes by bellowing, "They can't help but back away, / With fear in their eyes."

The artist becomes the black witch, soaring against a slate-colored sky in search of "something we may never find." The song's trudging bass and palpitating beats conflict with its smooth, melodic synth lead and a vocal melody tinged with hope.

"Symmetry" and "Beautiful Mourning" close the EP with contrast. "Symmetry" is full of fury and paranoia, while the final cut sends the listener out on a dreamy note, if a somewhat bleak one ("Embrace nothingness and see / Our last breath is true beauty").

As Burial Woods, Nowak-Meunier emerges as a powerful queer voice and master manipulator of sound. Though their pain is prevalent on Pink Forest, joy also reverberates through the trees.

Pink Forest is available at burialwoods.bandcamp.com and on all major streaming platforms. Burial Woods performs on Saturday, September 9, at Community of Sound in Burlington.