In 2018, I reviewed the latest album of Nosound, Allow Yourself (see review). The album is all about emotions, and that is exact what I love to hear in music. In the meantime we are seven years later and we had to wait all this time to receive new music from this band. And what is given, is only an EP from less than twenty minutes of music. Still I am very curious what we can hear in this music, but the bar is high. And what I am told is that there will be more music soon. If we look at the bandmembers, I can tell you that the band consists of Giancarlo Erra (vocals, instruments, programming), Paolo Vigliarolo (guitars), Marco Berni (keyboards), Alessandro Luci (bass) and newcomer Daniele Michelacci (drums). Let's have a look, or a listen, to the music. The first one is The Nothing We Gave. Only looking at the song title, I lift my eyebrow and think: uhm... where are we going to? Well... music wise guitars come and the song is on its way. As soon as Giancarlo starts singing, you will be drawn into the song. How beautiful and intense can anyone sing? The rhythm section serves the music because the guitar has to tell the story, dragging your soul to places you'll never been before. And yes, that is what Nosound can do with their music. After the first guitar solo you can hear another one, that one goes through the marrow and bone after which the song comes to an end. Then it is the time for To The Core. It all starts with a piano that tells what it has to say in a very subtle way. Giancarlo's voice is heavenly and touches you deeply, while he is supported by a violin. You can only endure this music in the dark, with headphones on and the volume as loud as you can handle, with tears streaming down your cheeks. What an unprecedented emotion that washes over you, beautiful. During the song you hear the familiar Nosound sound, which you can recognize out of thousands. Towards the end of the song it is again the guitar that steals the show. When the song comes to an end, you notice that you have raised both arms to the heavens, it is time for you to be fetched. After recovering we will go to the third song, Worn-Out Parts, the longest track of this ep. It starts a bit like a singer songwriter song, well deserved after the first intense songs. After about one minute the singer songwriter music fades away because Giancarlo needs to be heard again, and how! His voice reminds me of Anathema on its best days, very beautiful and excruciating. After a while the drums are a bit on the foreground and in the song you can recover a bit. Slowly the song comes to another highlight, what a beauty, another time the tears are in abundance. During the song you will hear singing together which makes it even more fantastic. Towards the end another dragging guitar solo will move you. It is time for the shortest song, Interrupt. Another time on the piano that is played softly, Giancarlo sings on another level, with some singing together. It all is a bit quiet, until the emotions of the master singer are there again. You notice that they are working towards a climax. It's wonderful to experience so much in such a short song. Time for the last one, Closure. Some rhythm section with a bit of a violin in the background, you are tossed back and forth, nicely done. The lyrics are about a train that will never stop, and so the music feels too. This kind of song can last for hours without being boring. Nosound would not be Nosound without having a beautiful guitar solo, so there is another beautiful one. And yes, then the last song is over. So, as you can read in my review, this is another really emotional ride from the band that can play so emotionally. If you take a look at the music, it is not that there is a lot happening in the songs, but I think it is the trademark of Nosound to be more intense if it is as stripped as is possible. There is always the unexpected but simple moves that move you. I can only recommend this album to anybody who loves music in any way. The five star rating is well deserved. I hope Giancarlo and his bandmates will create a lot more music simply because it meets my needs! ***** Michel Stolk (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
