CD Reviews
Bring Her - Bring Her | Review
Bring Her - Bring Her
March 2019
Icy Cold Records / Black Verb Records / Phage Tapes
Bring Her released same titled, "Bring Her" full length album, earlier this year.
Well, I, recently, came upon this dark wave duo, Bring Her, and their music. Bring Her is a relatively new project and is a two member band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Bring Her first appeared in 2015 with an extended play, released from Black Verb Records and consisted of Nadine J.and Marcus N.
It is obvious that Bring Her was into the strangest forms of dark rock and wave and their will was to experiment with this music, death rock and post-punk. Based on these melancholic arrangements of Marcus Nati and the icy voice of Nadine J. Waldron, their music experiments included the addition of some electronic parts. And all this music elements blended together had as result what the duo calls "sorrow wave".
Starting with the, previously released as the album's first single, back in January, "Curses Not Promise", Bring Her delivers that dark, 90's mood, with this "batcave" punk style. A voice, which you can understand from the beginning, that this is going to be a special case. A guitar chord and a beat that would definitely make you dance. One of the characteristics that you find again in the "Cold Moon". With the tempo going a bit more higher, we are now in the post punk world of Bring Her. An idea of deathrock rhythm with some shoegaze guitar riffs. In "Arms In This Circle" the ambience is cold from the beginning with an appropriate intro, until the time that the voice of Nadine brings the dark clouds again. The music balances in the main influences of the duo, with some electronic parts completing the sound.
"Choose Me Moves Me" has this cold wave, all the way through with sharpness in guitars, while a witchy voice is there with haunting characterisitics. Dark punk beat. Next one, "Held By No One", is a quite different moment and song in the album. An important factor for this is the presence and collaboration with War Scenes, the solo project of Phillip Laufer, known from his other post-punk band Bleib Modern. I told you that Bring Her loves to experiment with their music and this is the absolute proof. Dark techno beats and a lyric line with the voice of Nadine.
The previous song is standing there as a break point inside the album, since after that it seems that a second chapter begins in "Bring Her". The atmosphere gets even darker
with the "Flesh In Line". Cold experimental wave in lower tempo but with an intense feeling. "Eleventh Hour" is having that dancing mood with some long ending in Nadine's vocals.
"Unholy Awake" keeps the same tension with some breaks and turns creating an interesting atmosphere to this song and a feeling of a story telling that keeps you in an agony, until the end. Haunting in many ways, perhaps my favorite of the album. Deep beats and alternate with cold guitar chords. Voice is quite more emotional and mystic. Last one is "Osiris Temple", a cover to Poison Point's dark, post-punk hit. Beautiful cover with the elements and changes of Bring Her, giving a new version of "Osiris Temple".
Bring Her's full length album is a great debut record. I would say it is a blend of experimentations with instruments of darkness, mysticism and agony. Marcus and Nadine presents a mixture of fine 80's and 90's death rock influences with post-punk riffs and modern cold sounds. They use this elements while moving across the edge between dark wave and shoegaze. Additionally, inside this dark blend they dare to put even an almost techno track. Bring Her and mainly the voice of Nadine, and these stretchings she uses, brings memories of bands like Skeletal Family, Diva Destruction and, if you put the electronic parts alongside, even Athamay. A really interesting and promising debut album.
"Bring Her" is out on cd/digital from Icy Cold Records, vinyl edition from Black Verb Records and cassette edition from Phage Tapes.
Info:
https://www.facebook.com/bringherbringher
https://bringher.bandcamp.com/
https://icycoldrecords.bandcamp.com/album/icr015-bring-her-bring-her
