Released on August 16, 2019, Not All of Us Are Human is a 12-track journey into the depths of existence, crafted by Arizona-based musician Richard Nihil under the moniker I Am Hologram. Blending alternative rock, psychedelic textures, and experimental soundscapes, the album is a meditation on the human condition, existential crises, and the unseen forces that shape us. Recorded at Lava Lake Studio, it defies conventional boundaries, offering an immersive and thought-provoking listening experience.

The album opens with "Frequency 972," a spacey noise piece that acts as a beacon, pulling listeners into a dimension where introspection reigns and the rules of reality blur. It sets the stage for "Murmur," a reflective piece dissecting fractured relationships, with poignant lines like "You and I, we were once enemies... Floating on the surface, just beneath the tide." Tracks like "Once, I Was" delve into personal transformation and growth, as Nihil muses, "Once I was miniature, I could fit into the palm of your hand... Now my thoughts are too big for me."

"Where the Light Creeps In" captures the feeling of existential searching with lyrics like "I'm lost at sea, I don't breathe enough... It's getting hard to find where the light creeps in," while the sprawling instrumental title track, "Not All of Us Are Human," becomes the album’s centerpiece—a near seven-minute fever dream that pulsates with an undeniable presence, consuming the listener entirely.

The album’s sharp social commentary emerges in "Null/Void," a critique of digital existence, with the biting observation, "Everything is digital, our lives are null and void." "I Beg to Differ" challenges conventional thinking with the line, "You're hypnotized, you think that makes you safe, but I beg to differ," pushing listeners to question their perceptions and embrace self-reflection.

Closing the album is "God Speed John Glenn," a hauntingly poetic meditation on space, mortality, and the human experience. With the line, "When it’s time to take my place amongst the stars, I will leave a trail for you to find," Nihil bids farewell, leaving listeners adrift in the cosmos, pondering the journey they’ve just undertaken.

Not All of Us Are Human isn’t merely a collection of songs—it’s an alien transmission from the depths of human experience, unflinchingly honest and deeply introspective. Nihil’s ability to weave profound themes into dynamic soundscapes ensures the album resonates long after its final notes fade. It’s not here to comfort you; it’s here to challenge you, provoke you, and remind you of the uncharted territories within yourself. This is I Am Hologram at his boldest, his most daring, and his most human—even if not all of us are.

"Not All of Us Are Human" – Album Review by Ishmael Nihil

The needle drops. A low hum buzzes through the speaker like a machine translating the language of dead gods. I Am Hologram stands in the shadows, a spectre wired into the mainframe, spilling transmissions from the void. The album, Not All of Us Are Human, is an alien vivisection of the soul—stripped, gutted, and dissected with surgical precision.

The songs drip with static and sweat, each track a synapse firing wildly in the dark. "Murmur" stumbles in like a junkie confessing his sins in the back alley of a dream. Nihil whispers truths no one wants to hear: love, war, enemies, and the tide that pulls us all under. By the time “Once, I Was” kicks in, you’ve started to feel the burn. It’s not the flames of hell—it’s colder than that. The words unravel like stolen memories: "Miniature thoughts, too big for me now. Too heavy." Heavy indeed. Like carrying a body you aren’t sure is yours.

The title track is an interstellar broadcast. Seven minutes of sound folding in on itself like a collapsing star. It’s the sound of the first spaceship leaving Earth, or the last one coming back. No lyrics. Just a reminder that sometimes words get in the way of understanding.

Then the claws come out. “Null/Void” is the sermon on the screen, the preacher in a tinfoil hat broadcasting from a post-apocalyptic motel room. "Everything is digital, lives are null and void." The line burns like an old film reel catching fire mid-frame. You can almost smell the plastic melting.

But it’s the closer, “God Speed John Glenn”, that feels like the bullet to the brainstem. You’re left staring at the ceiling, wondering if the stars are real or just pinholes poked in the fabric of your hallucination. "I will leave a trail for you to find," Nihil croons, but you’re not sure if it’s a promise or a threat. Maybe it’s both.

Not All of Us Are Human is an album for the ghosts trapped in the meat, for the wires tangled in the veins. It’s not a comfortable listen. It’s a night spent crawling through an endless desert, unsure if the vultures are circling you—or if you’re circling them.

This is a record that demands you lose yourself to find yourself. And when you do, don’t be surprised if what you find isn’t human at all. 

You and I

We were once enemies

We were once anemones

Floating on the surface

Just beneath the tide

You and I

We were moons that would collide

We were cells that would divide

Then I found the wormhole

I think about you often

I wonder where you are

I hope you found your way

I should have known

You had your own philosophies

On the way that things could have been

On the way that things should have been

I think about you all the time

I hope you found your way

Once I was miniature

I could fit in to the palm of your hand

Now my thoughts are too big for me

They consume me

But I know where to hide

And I know I'll be alright

Where I'm from is long behind me

I don't know me

But I'm the last of mine

And I know I'll be fine

I started a rumor just because I could

Suddenly I'm the only one who laughs

I started a rumor just because I could

I hide because I love my secrets

Once I was interesting

I forgive who I'm supposed to forget

Now that things are so much clearer now that you're gone

I can't wait to fly without the use of my spine

Once I was just like you

I spoke slowly like the radio buzz

When I was young

They came to me and made me swear

That I would give my life

To make everything all right

Help me I'm on fire

I'm lost at sea

I don't breathe enough

And I'm an 1/8th away

From deciding my fate

I've already said too much

I don't dream enough

I see the vultures smile

Waiting to pick me clean

They say don't look with your mind

You can feel with your bones

You can tell from their eyes

That something ain't right

Then along came the flood

And the victims of sin

Ain't too hard to find

That something ain't right

When the light goes away

In a moment undefined

In a field of mines

It's getting hard to find

Where the light creeps in

I'm lost in space

Writing letters to home

But it's been light years now

Since the last one sent

The day began with stars and waves

As the slaves slept in their caves

The breath I held was a universe

Which begged me not to sigh

All things were silent as the sun was unemployed

Everything is constant noise

Our lives are null and void

You're null and void

We race towards the light

In search of dreams we can't believe

The heartbeat that guides us all

Keeps us mystified

All we are are animals

Corrupt and paranoid

Everything is digital

Our lives are null and void

We're null and void

They dress you up in clothes

They think will keep you pacified

Then pills are administered to help you sleep at night

If you sign on the dotted line

The lords are overjoyed

Everything is constant noise

Our lives are null and void

We're null and void

Thoughts go by on my way back home

Disco eyes high in thin disguise

I slither through the rain

Soaked in wine

She is on his way

And I don't mind having nothing to say

Today's the day

To make amends

Or dig your hole deeper

Remember that time you saved me

Today's the day

To make amends

You're hypnotized

You think that makes you safe

But I beg to differ

Today's the day

To make amends

You spare the change

You think that makes you safe

But I beg to differ

Was I on time to my own funeral?

Breathe in me

I want to feel like a ghost

Then days away

I feel in tune with everyone

And as the light goes out it's time to dig another one

Am I divine?

I am naked and not alone

Return to me I can't do this on my own

And there's no telling what will happen now

It's undecided

And there's no telling who will lead us now

They're all in hiding

And there's no telling what will happen to me now

When it's time to take my place amongst the stars

I will leave a trail for you to find

And to waste this chance to be divine

Is to deny the gleam in the creators eye

Dear Warden, Good morning

I'm awake

We're displayed in the space before time

It's a vague place to spend a life

I try to relate to them

I try to believe in truth

I try to believe in love

When the sun breathes new life in me

I will leave a trail for you to find