Year of No Light - Nord
Crucial Blast Records - CBR 060 - May 5, 2007
By George Grant
Call it brutal shoegazer. Call it post-hardcore. Call it whatever youd like, but what it all boils down to is good music. With their debut album, Nord, Frances Year of No Light has proven to be a powerful force.
The main element in Year of No Lights music is dynamics. Through these dynamics, the album acts much like a rollercoaster. The band will take their time to build up the tension, and then release into an epic surreal climax, only to lull you back and start again. To build the tension YONL utilizes a sludge-fueled groove similar to Neurosis and Isis. On top of this, for the more relaxing and reflective moments, Year of No Light borrows influences from post-rock. The catchy melodic leads that bleed through the mix will no doubt conjure thoughts of Godspeed You Black Emperor, and even Agallochs instrumental works.
Hidden inside the music are veiled vocals that seem to lurk behind the wall. This was a great choice from the band as the vocalist isnt the most dynamic, and it really suits the music. Also, noise and ambient touches help add to the mystique that forms around the music, as well as unite the entire work into one cohesive thought.
Hopefully, for future releases the band will work harder on the vocals to strengthen the experience. Clean vocals would be an excellent addition to the melodic moments without sacrificing the music, and French can be a beautiful language for clean vocals. Also, at times Nord does lag. Its nothing too serious, but enough to lessen the musics impact. Seeing as this is a debut album, I have faith that Year of No Light will improve with regards to this. Even still, this is a very strong album and worth a close inspection.
Official Year of No Light Website
Official Crucial Blast Records Website
Crucial Blast Records - CBR 060 - May 5, 2007
By George Grant
Call it brutal shoegazer. Call it post-hardcore. Call it whatever youd like, but what it all boils down to is good music. With their debut album, Nord, Frances Year of No Light has proven to be a powerful force.
The main element in Year of No Lights music is dynamics. Through these dynamics, the album acts much like a rollercoaster. The band will take their time to build up the tension, and then release into an epic surreal climax, only to lull you back and start again. To build the tension YONL utilizes a sludge-fueled groove similar to Neurosis and Isis. On top of this, for the more relaxing and reflective moments, Year of No Light borrows influences from post-rock. The catchy melodic leads that bleed through the mix will no doubt conjure thoughts of Godspeed You Black Emperor, and even Agallochs instrumental works.
Hidden inside the music are veiled vocals that seem to lurk behind the wall. This was a great choice from the band as the vocalist isnt the most dynamic, and it really suits the music. Also, noise and ambient touches help add to the mystique that forms around the music, as well as unite the entire work into one cohesive thought.
Hopefully, for future releases the band will work harder on the vocals to strengthen the experience. Clean vocals would be an excellent addition to the melodic moments without sacrificing the music, and French can be a beautiful language for clean vocals. Also, at times Nord does lag. Its nothing too serious, but enough to lessen the musics impact. Seeing as this is a debut album, I have faith that Year of No Light will improve with regards to this. Even still, this is a very strong album and worth a close inspection.
Official Year of No Light Website
Official Crucial Blast Records Website
