With each release, of which there are now numerous, it seems that this “dagger” has the German collective unsheathing and showing a bit more of themselves. We are still not on 1st name terms yet but the players are coming in from the dark a little and on this release even getting in the spotlight a bit with a video-clip of the track ‘Tonight,’ suggesting anonymity may well dispelled in the future. The dagger in question is one we are discovering has no serrated edges and is hardly an implement for stabbing with either. (Dolch) are on the fringes of metaldom and as was proven with the first part of this trilogy of albums ‘Feuer’ provide a more subtle sound that dwells on the side of the ethereal rather than anything faster and more furious. Still, they fit in very well and have been embraced by the metallic hive-mind as early outings with the likes of the Ruins Of Beverast showed.
The night might be cold and dark but it certainly is not one without plenty of emotion here. The dreamlike states embrace “spheres of euphoria and depression” and no doubt take in some of the travelling and culture from places the band wrote and recorded the compositions in such as Seattle, Los Angeles and Berlin before the world closed in on itself. The music of the 12 tracks is on the whole gentle with pulsating electronic backgrounds brooding beneath the gorgeous elfin vocals of singer M. Melody is strong and compelling as these night-time birds spread their wings and take in the sights over songs like the gently, mesmerising ‘Open,’ indeed there is that mood conveyed by artists such as The Gathering from that particular era here. So too is it a sound that owes plenty to the likes of This Mortal Coil and The Cocteau Twins, through to Massive Attack and Portishead; we are shown beauty and are happy to shoegaze and float through these various doors as they are opened up to us. Gothic and doom flirt with the slow ponderous beat of ‘Tonight,’ and songs have a warmth to them as they caress and entrance; there is no shortage of beauty in this darkness. Temperature like the ‘Mercury’ occasionally rises with the big bass heft pushing the thermometer gradually up, catching in its harmonious and hypnotic grasp.
Equilibrium is necessary to balance everything out and a couple of tracks such as ‘I Am OK’ seem deeply personal confronting the necessity of Hydroxytryptamine to raise serotonin levels and keep things on an even keel. As the album rises to its most burgeoning motion on ‘House Of Glass’ and the mantra like vocal line of “no way out of this” repeats, it is obvious that the wheels occasionally come off and a mind-crash is inevitable. A masculine vocal perspective from T is added to the haunting Americana sounding narration of ‘Ghost’ and from here we are allowed to shimmer and sway through the dying darkness to the inevitable stumble of ‘Early Morning, No Taxi.’ Essentially ‘Nacht’ is a chill-out album, you are expected to go in deep for anything more but it certainly tells a story when you do. The final part will be the “death” in the form of Tod and we will see what further insights we are allowed. Until then the ethereal gorgeousness of Nacht will fill in the darkness admirably and draw in listeners from the cold, proffering a glowing musical cuddle as a reward.
(8/10 Pete Woods)
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