There’s something irresistibly cinematic about habits of a complex mind, the debut LP from Norwegian indie artist ST. NIKLAS. It’s like stepping into a coming-of-age movie where the camera lingers on dusk-lit streets and hearts get broken in slow motion. Full of bittersweet yearning, 80s-drenched synths, and fuzzed-out guitars, the album captures the whirlwind of nostalgia, heartbreak, and self-discovery that defines young adulthood.
Opening track “ICSTWYWHN” is drenched in dreamlike haze. A misty soundscape of slow, grainy vocals and restrained drums gradually gives way to a fuzzy, urgent build, before it cools back into stillness. The refrain, “I can’t say the words you wanna hear now,” lingers like the ache of unsaid things.
Midway through, “antidote” throws us into the eye of an emotional storm. Gritty guitars grind under ST. NIKLAS’ soft, impassioned delivery. The lyrics are raw, vulnerable, and cinematic—“You’re a drug to me / A hurricane that makes the walls start shaking”—wrapped in lush production that swells with every beat.
Then there’s the title track, “habits of a complex mind,” a slow burn that perfectly encapsulates the album’s emotional undercurrent. With echoing guitars and a dazed, confessional vocal, ST. NIKLAS sounds like he’s drowning in awe of someone he can’t quite articulate. The track embodies the very “complex mind” the album explores: overthinking, emotional paralysis, and longing that lives rent-free in your head for years.
Fans of Sam Fender and Del Water Gap will find a kindred spirit here. But habits of a complex mind is entirely ST. NIKLAS’ own—a hazy, heartfelt debut that makes overthinking sound like poetry. Check it out on Spotify.
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Photo Credit: Lars Evanger
Review by: Naomi Joan