IMPULSE NINE Expands Instrumental Rock with “Nothing Is Easy”
- Miles Coleman
- Sep 17
- 2 min read
Impulse Nine’s debut Nothing Is Easy is an album built on patience, persistence, and the kind of life experience that cannot be faked. After more than two decades of quietly working on demos and unfinished sketches, Tucson based musician Steve has delivered a body of work that is both intensely personal and strikingly cinematic. It is instrumental music, yet it speaks volumes, pulling the listener into a journey of grief, remembrance, and resilience without a single lyric to guide the way.
The record unfolds like a story in chapters. The opener I’m Sorry About Your Everything sets the tone with a sweeping sound that feels both heavy and luminous, a balance carried throughout the album. Pieces like A Wake and Fireflies highlight the reflective side of the project, where layered guitars shimmer with intimacy. In contrast, Heavy Metal Mama and All Nighter lean into raw power, showing a harder edge without losing the emotional core.
What makes Nothing Is Easy compelling is its ability to capture fragility alongside force. Steve’s guitar work is meticulous yet never sterile. Textures breathe and expand, leaving space for listeners to inhabit the songs with their own memories. Imperfections remain audible, giving the music an organic character that makes it feel lived in rather than manufactured.
The influences are broad but never overpower the identity of the project. There are echoes of shoegaze, post rock, hard rock, and ambient traditions, but they are all woven together with a singular voice. The album is not nostalgic nor derivative; instead it carries forward familiar sounds into a widescreen vision that feels modern and timeless.
Closing track Shadow Over Johnny Ringo’s Grave feels like an arrival as well as a departure, leaving the listener with a sense of openness rather than resolution. This refusal to neatly tie up the narrative makes the album linger long after the final note fades.
Nothing Is Easy is not casual listening. It asks for attention and offers reward through detail, texture, and emotion. More than a debut, it feels like the culmination of years of persistence finally finding its true form.
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