CD Reviews
Night Nail - March To Autumn | Review
Night Nail - March To Autumn
October 2020
Cold Transmission
Dark wave and gothic nostalgia flows from Night Nail's latest album, "March To Autumn".
Night Nail released their second album, "March To Autumn", last October, on 15th, via Cold Transmission. The dark wave band formed back in 2013, in Los Angeles and a while after the release of their first EP, they moved to Berlin, where they released their debut album, "LA Demons". Night Nail are Brandon Robert in composition, vocals, guitars, bass guitars, keyboards, midi, and drum programming with Justin Deaktivere in composition, guitars, saxophone, keyboards, midi, and drum programming.
2020 has been a very strange year for everyone. However, I always say that from such difficult periods of time, there are moments that are really worthy to keep and take them with you while moving forward. Such is the case for the new 8-track album of Night Nail. Started, gathering the music pieces, back in late 2019, the Berlin based dark wavers, completed their amazing album during the lockdown, expressing this mixture of feelings, the loss of hope, the fear and the unknown.
"March To Autumn" is the collection of sounds and emotions that makes post-punk sound so nostalgic, romantic and dark.
The album starts with "FTL". Nostalgic and ghostly, as the band wanted to let the listener start this trip to the innocent times. Clear post-punk tempo, guitars and programming that completes these feelings of darkness and guide to the cold side of the saxophone used in this track. "BRNO" is filled with cold lyricism and sounds like embracing the dark waves of the band's music. Female vocals by the dark artist Valentina Veil, gives a dark romanticism as well. "Co-Morbid" combines the beautiful male and the ethereal female voices again, with the guitars "looking" at some new romantics riffs, on their darker forms. "Helen" touches the lines of a dark ballad. Low-tempo arrangements, sad melodies with clear guitar riffs, a gloomy sax, swapping with the bass and the synth.
"153" is an instrumental theme, dark and cold, creating the ambience and being an intro to the same titled track, "March To Autumn". Nostalgia is the main feeling here, coldness and a strange feeling of sadness follows. One of these with a an addictive, light distortion in guitars that takes your hand and leading you to a dark dance. "Republican Marriage" is a raw post-punk track. Heavier riffs and an intense strength all over. Without losing the gothicness but with the elements of a punk attitude and a dark alternative sound. "Sacred Spaces" is closing the album. An outro of the darkness which completes "March To Autumn" with a sum up of these elements that make this album special. Clear, melancholic melody, influences from the early dark wave and post-punk pioneers, vocals that sound dark and almost sensual.
Night Nail returned with a really beautiful album. "March To Autumn", perfectly, represents the time that it was being written and recorded. Dark wave, "playing" between the lines of post-punk and gothic rock. Matching the most melancholic, romantic and emotional elements of these sounds, the Berlin based dark wave band, offers a trip to unknown insticts, through fear and love. "March To Autumn" is one of the highlights in 2020 written and composed by Brandon Robert and Justin Deaktivere and features additional instruments and voices by Valentina Veil, Ilja Gavrilenko, Manuel Wagner, Steven Fleet & Pete Burns.
Published by Obscurity Forever Music ASCSP 2020 & Justin Deactivere BMI 2020. Co-produced, mixed, & mastered by Pete Burns in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Info:
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