This is the final round up from last Friday’s mammoth release session.
Nicolay Løvvold (Norway) – You (single/possible future album track)
Anyone that has been following Nicolay Løvvold in these pages over the last year or so will know what to expect from him. Meaty, melodic metal and had rock, sometimes with a little bit of glam rock thrown in, complemented by a vivid imagination and a capacity to transport historic imagery into a contemporary setting while sometimes taking inspiration from leading figures or bands in the business.
Last time out for example it was Iron Maiden riffs that set his creative juices flowing.
This time, and unusually, I didn’t hear from him and only know of this latest single, ‘You’, (which is actually out on the 16th – my bad), probably the last in advance of his album release next month, via a social media post.
Hence I’m not sure of the subject matter. I’m guessing that the ‘You’ here is someone that is a guardian angel to him, someone who has always been there for him when it’s all gone pair shaped. And as is often the case she’s a statuesque maiden, going by the promo video, which I think I just about managed to capture an image from.
I recently reviewed Auri’s ‘Shieldmaiden’ – a female warrior from Scandinavian folklore and mythology and that’s exactly what this lady appears to be.
Vocally, I do like the way he’s developing his metal growl.
Musically, this is the nearest he’s come that I can recall to Jethro Tull. And I do believe he’s playing most if not all the instruments himself, testimony to his virtuosity.
The percussion is simple but wonderfully emphatic. The way he hammers the snare drum I kept thinking of those shots on the beach fired by Meursault in L’Etranger, “each one another loud rap on the door of my undoing “
He will know what I mean.
If it’s all too much for you there is a gentler lo-fix mix as well.
‘The Red Album’ will be released on 11th July.
Find him on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicolaylovvold
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolaylovvold/
Nordly (Denmark/Sweden) – Punctured balloon (single) + video
Sometimes certain features of recordings come together to create a sound that is irresistible and that is the case with Nordly’s ‘Punctured balloon’, their first new release since last June’s EP ‘Den rastløse drøm’ and one that reflects on fading friendships and the search for calm in uncertain times. And there’s plenty of that just now.
I find that a low male voice and a high but not piercing female one together often does it for me. I’m thinking of the UK’s Emmy the Great with Tom Fleming of Wild Beasts on the sumptuous ‘Swimming Pool’ and Sweden’s Ljug Aldrig and Elefant with the utterly gorgeous ‘Seashells’.
And I’m more than happy to put ‘Punctured balloon’ in the same category.
And when it is complemented by a trumpet accompaniment that briefly plays like a lament it gets even better.
Nordly is AnnaMia Lindblom (Sweden) and Frederik Breith-Mortensen (Denmark) and yes it is easy to read that as Mama Mia. They write in their native language and, as here, in English.
They met in 2019 but only formed the band when they realised they were a musical match, with an initial trip hop style that latterly merged into an indie pop sound that on the song reminds me of some of Of Monsters and Men’s earlier, gentler stuff.
And the band name, referring to seeking shelter from a northerly storm is both symptomatic of their philosophy and reflected in the lyrics here:
“Punctured balloon/set me free/The wind from northeast/live a little in me.”
I noticed some geographic coordinates in their publicity material too; all very maritime.
At the same time the song is dedicated to ‘Our Son’, one that is clearly on the way in the video.
A lovely little atmospheric song, very well performed and with a mysterious storyline. What more could you ask for?
Find them on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100043184055861&locale=da_DK
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nordly.official/
