Nothing's 5th album is a more organic excursion, with strummed acoustic guitar and vocals stepping out from behind the indifferent haze of effects. This is not so say Domenic has shed the idea of being a shoe-gaze, in fact he more closely aligns himself with that sound on the second song and lead single 'Cannibal World' that finds a break beat drum samplele moving things in a manner much different from what you expectg from shoe -gaze while still bathing you inthe woozy swirl of My Bloody Valentine influenced guitars. Even then, you learn to get too comfortable with what you assume this band to be.
Guitarist Doyle Martin is the only member to carry over from the "Great Dismal" sessions. The title track finds the more programmed drum beat leading the way into the song again, until they kick through the haze. It's only three songs in, but I am not hearing the more fuzzed-out guitar punch that once gave a nod in the direction of grunge. The vocals sit further back on the title track, which shifts through a slow-burning dynamic that adds intensity with each progressive step in the arrangement. The vocals are more thoughtful than your average shoe-gaze band, even when sitting back in the guitars.
Things drop back down to a more delicate strum for "The Rain don't care." There is a great, lonely reverb haunting the guitar tone of this song, which makes it sound more like something Chris Isaak might do, until the breathy plea of the vocals comes in to create more of a Smashing Pumpkins feel. It's dreamy, but the vocal arrangement is not as hooky, leaving the guitar to do most of the heavy lifting. Overall, the vocals have expanded the range of color they use on this album.
The acoustic guitar opening "Purple Strings" feels more like early Radiohead. It's fragile like their 90s era ballads. When the drums come in it even feels like it is building like "Creep". But unlike Radiohead, here they are not kicking in with grungy guitar and busting out power chords; they are just floating further down the dreamy trail. There is also more of a 90s feel to "Toothless coal," which does bring the power chords with it. It might be the album's best song as the melody works really well and is subtle. Sure, the band has it harder before, but this is a great compromise.
There is a more David Lynch feel to "Baller of the Traitor". It's like the nuance in the guitar riff that keeps the song floating in its introspection. The breathy vocals are another layer of sound. I appreciate how they weave around the guitar. The interplay of drums and guitar is more defined on "Nerve scale." This leads to the vocals fading more from the spotlight to a ghostly croon. The album closes with the hesitant strum of 'Essential Tremors.' it touches on the crossroads where early emo intersected with the atmosphere of shoe-gaze, before building into a more Hum-like rock climax.They had moved away from your typical shoe-gaze sound on the last couple of albums so taking a step back into this introspective atmosphere is an odd choice, but it works from a songwriting perspective, so I will give this one a 9.5, and see how it grows on me.Coming out on Run For Cover Records
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