Nova Cascade - Back From The Brink

I'm sure I've read somewhere - probably on some cheesy inspirational meme somewhere - that out of adversity comes strength. Cheesy though it may be, there is certainly some truth in those sentiments when it comes to this, the third album from the ambient progressive collective known as Nova Cascade.

 

Following on from their earlier albums - 2018's 'Above All Else' and 2019's 'A Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows' - comes 'Back From The Brink', a collection of songs, vocal and instrumental, forged in the white heat of the past 18 months or so of pandemic and lockdown: a task made all the more onerous as Dave Hilborne, the keyboardist and vocalist, was struck down by the virus and still endures the long-term effects of it. The title, 'Back From The Brink', is, therefore, apposite.

Dave, together with his usual associates Dave Fick on bass, and Charlie Bramald on flute, are joined by Eric Bouillette (who played with them on the last album) on violin & guitars, and Lorenzo Poliandri on drums & percussion. As with their previous recordings, the music is immersive, atmospheric and thoughtful; keyboard-driven, yet benefiting from the textures that the violin, flute and guitars bring. This is once more music from the ambient as well as progressive schools, and Dave Hilborne's vocals have an almost harsh yet ethereal quality to them. It is fascinating in that it is both music to soak yourself in, yet also music to engage the mind and spirit; that washes over you and carries you along to new places.

Musically, there are hints for me of the Moody Blues in 'The Minutes After', and of Peter Gabriel's 'Intruder' in 'The Hill', and the epic title track is a well-constructed, multi-sectional piece with reggae rhythms at times. There is a clear progression in all the band's work, with this being the most accomplished of the three albums to date, which I would highly commend to any and to all.

August's Music

August, the height of summer in the UK, was a mixed kind of month for me. Much of it was taken up with settling into a new house and into retirement, but there was time for some music as well, so here goes a very brief summary...

Elsewhere I've written about three albums that came my way: "The Sky Has Fallen" by Apolis; "A Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows" by Nova Cascade (a little early: not released until September 9th); and "Star Chamber" by Hollow Hand. I picked up the latter of the three at the Greenbelt Festival, where I had my only experience of live music during the month. All three were different in their own ways: shorter, poppy Prog; more ambient Progressive music; and some interesting, almost psychedelic, rock.

On the Psychedelic front I also picked up Rosalie Cunningham's new self-titled album, which picks up on the psych vibe of the Purson album which she fronted in 2016, and is an excellent addition to the collection. Alongside that was the new CD from iamthemorning, The Bell, which carried on their evocative canon with another fine example of keyboard virtuosity and breath-taking vocals.

I've just taken delivery of a cornucopia of delights from Bad Elephant Music, and am expecting some new jazz from Edition Records, which will, no doubt feature in next month's instalment. See you then, I hope!

Nova Cascade - A Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

In my review of Nova Cascade's debut album, Above All Else, I urged readers to buy a copy, to 'encourage the band to create and develop more ideas'. This, it seems has borne fruit, as the second album - 'A Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows' - is about to be released.

Like the debut, this is a collection of ambient Progressive music, around 36 minutes in length (some might say an EP rather than an album, these days...), and a mixture of vocal and instrumental songs. There are 9 tracks in all, all of which bar one are between two and four minutes in length - the exception being over 10 minutes: what we call 'an epic!' Four of the musicians from the first album: Dave Hilborne (vocals, synths & programming); Dave Fick (bass); Charlie Bramald (flute); and David Anania (drums) are joined by Eric Bouillette (violin & guitar). Charlie is, I believe, also responsible for the cover art, which is quite stunning and draws you in to this collection of fine music.

Anyone familiar with the band's first album - and if you're not, do yourself a favour and listen to it! - will know the kind of music that they produce, but this follow-up is definitely a progression for them: a more accomplished work, with songs that have been developed more and a much fuller sound.

The album opens with 'Unwavering', an instrumental track which builds layers of keyboards over strong but not intrusive guitar, strong bass and decorative drums, which then grows into strident and striking chords before the final brief fade: a strong start. 'Antillas' is a more thoughtful piece with a more percussive, 'plucked' feel, feeding into a central section of Dave H's restrained vocals (with more than a hint for me of Chris Isaak about them) and a smoother, quieter backing, before a return to the opening texture. 'Rabbit Hole' is a little more upbeat, but still with the restrained vocals that are, for me, a trademark of the band. 'Echo & Narcissus', the pre-release 'single', opens with a drum machine that immediately puts me in mind of early solo Phil Collins or Duke-era Genesis, a thought reinforced by the keyboard sounds later. The violin gives some depth to the sound that has a wonderful ethereal feel to it. 'Apophis' opens with a simple motif played concurrently on piano and wind, and flows into an instrumental piece that has a much more ambient feel to it than has so far been present.

'Plasticine & Paint' is the track on this album that is most reminiscent of the work on the debut in its overall feel and structure, and is also wonderfully evocative of childhood and innocence. 'Joseph', the next instrumental track, is quite 'jolly', but not in a supercilious way, with the violin dancing playfully at times: quite understated at times, but positive as well. And then comes the 'epic'! The title track, 'A Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows', twice the length of anything the band has done before, and drawing its inspiration from the urban dictionary of the same name by John Koenig, is for me the most accomplished song on the album. There's a wonderful contrast of tempos working together, with fast drums and slow keys & guitars overlapping. The song gives them time and space to develop ideas that I thought was lacking in the debut album - some tracks were just getting going when they finished. There are hints of Tangerine Dream in places for me, and even of Pink Floyd. In contrast to the epic, 'Thaw', the album closer, is the shortest song in the collection at just over 2 minutes, but it draws things to a close well - quiet, reflective, and atmospheric.

This album, if given the attention that it richly deserves, should increase Nova Cascade's reach into both the ambient & Progressive schools of music. There is definite and evident growth musically from their debut, and in such a short time too, and if that trajectory can be maintained we are certainly in line for more sublime music from the band. You can order a copy of the album here - I would strongly encourage you to do so!

Nova Cascade - Above All Else

I don't know about you, but when I'm looking for new music (which I must confess I do from time to time) one of the avenues that I explore is through the 'tags' on Bandcamp. My tastes are reasonably broad, though they tend to hover mainly in the areas of Jazz and Progressive Rock, but every now and then I stray into other areas, particularly that of ambient music. Much of this can, at times, be seen as nothing more than aural wallpaper, though there are occasional diversions from this analysis.

It was because of this interest in these somewhat diffuse musical styles that my curiosity was piqued by Nova Cascade, who tag themselves as both Progressive Rock and Ambient. The latter seemed to be to the fore, as the band has had 3 tracks that have topped the UK ambient chart, but on further listening their progressive credentials showed forth as well.

Above All Else is the band's debut album, and comes as a result of three of the band members meeting by chance in an on-line chat room, swapping files and eventually creating this collection of 37 minutes-worth of music spread over 12 tracks. It is, in the band's words, 'an unashamedly home-made album', and the sounds are 'retro, and proudly so! Not through any contrivance on our part, but because that is just in our DNA.'

The band are: Dave Hilborne - synths, lead & backing vocals; Dave Fick - bass and Alessio Proietti - guitars & backing vocals. They are joined by Charlie Bramald on flute and Heather Leslie on violin, and there is a special appearance by David Anania (Blue man group) on drums on the track 'Epiphany'. The music they produce is mostly instrumental, but 4 of the 12 tracks have lyrical content, of varying amounts.

The cover art (above) seems to be inspired by (or the inspiration for) the opening title track, which has a nice poetic quality to it, wanting the rapture of love to never end. The track opens with a ticking clock, which then reverses to give that sense of time standing still. Dave Hilborne's vocals are not prominent and are quite breath-y, which gives the song an ethereal quality. Continuum continues that dreamy theme with a gentle rhythm and guitars to the fore, but not overpowering in a mix of multi-layered instrumentation. Prophecy, the longest track on the album at just over 5 minutes, has a more brooding feel to it, with the bass a little more prominent. We Never Spoke is more up-beat with flute and piano vying with each other, before an almost metal feel, and a feeling of motion and hurry about it, which perhaps is fitting as we move into Hurtled. This has an almost industrial feel to begin with before Hilborne's vocals come in in their usual understated way. Lo-Fi is a soaring instrumental piece, that, like a number of the tracks on the album, seems to want to give more and go further - perhaps there's scope for developing some of the musical ideas in further releases. One Hundred & Fourteen is a quiet, meditative piece mainly on piano, with atmospheric keys in the background. Epiphany (as stated above) is the track with live drums on, which gives it a vibrant, energetic ambiance, albeit briefly, as the track only lasts just over 2 minutes. Imago is wistful and thoughtful, and then hopeful and emergent, perhaps relating to the sense of the last stage of metamorphosis that the title suggests. Swept Away has a strong driving beat to it - perhaps the least 'ambient' track in the collection - and some good bass work in the middle stages of the song. Icarus is, for me, the strongest tune musically of the set, and perhaps the most 'progressive' with hints of Tony Banks in it at times. The album ends with Wilted, a quiet piano-led piece that layers many sounds and has an almost mantra-like quality to it. Again there is a feeling of wanting more at the end, but also of tranquillity and peace.

This is an album that repays multiple listens, as each iteration brings more depth and interest from this simple yet complex suite. You can give it a listen here, and if enamoured even purchase a copy, which will encourage the band to create and develop more ideas. Above all else, do check it out!

Music of 2011

The music press at this time of year produce their 'Best of...' lists for the past 12 months, so I thought I'd look back over 2011 and pick through what I've been listening to.

So what's been exciting and entertaining me musically this year? Well, it's been an interesting and slightly eclectic year, one in which I've got hold of a large amount of music, new and old. But here's my pick of this year's releases.

My love of Scandinavian Progressive music has developed over the year, chiefly driven by the many projects of the prolific Roine Stolt, but elsewhere too. Highlights for me have been 'The Black Forest' by Agents of Mercy, 'Mammoth' by Beardfish, and 'In a Perfect World' by Karmakanic, but for me the outstanding  album in this area was 'Rites at Dawn' by Wobbler, a wonderful evocation of the early 1970s with great musicianship reminiscent in places of Yes in their heyday.

2011 was the year I discovered Bandcamp, and was introduced to some great mood music by the likes of Umber, Janes Scenic Drive, The Echelon Effect and Lowercase Noises. Perhaps the most prolific was that of Earlyguard who produced on a monthly basis wonderful minimalist ambient soundscapes with the ability to transport you to quiet and mysterious places.

Although I have a tendency towards Progressive music, I am also partial to a bit of blues too. This year gave us a new release from blues hobo Seasick Steve with the aptly-titled 'You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks', and fresh material from one of the hardest working guitarists in rock Joe Bonamassa, who produced his own 'Dust Bowl', and a second album with Black Country Communion. Both were strong examples of hard-driving blues rock that brought a great deal of joy.

From the Progressive Metal stable came new recordings from Symphony X, with 'Iconoclast' - a dystopian vision of a machine-dominated future, and from Dream Theater, their first recording without the considerable talents of Mike Portnoy on drums following his departure from the band at the end of 2010. His shoes were tough ones to fill, but Mike Mangini rose to the challenge and the band produced a great recording somewhat reminiscent for me of 'Scenes from a Memory'.

On the quieter side of the Progressive spectrum I have enjoyed the work of Lunatic Soul, a side project of the man behind Riverside, Mariusz Duda, who released their third collection, 'Impressions' towards the end of the year; Anathema's reworking of some of their earlier material in a much mellower style in 'Falling Deeper'; and the latest offering from Blackfield, 'Welcome to My DNA'. Blackfield are one of the many musical outings of Steven Wilson, the leading light behind Porcupine Tree, who as well as this release from Blackfield also completed his second solo album, 'Grace for Drowning'.

Veterans of the progressive music world Yes produced their first collection of new material in 10 years this year: my thoughts on 'Fly From Here' can be found here, and there was also 'The King of Limbs' from Radiohead, reminiscent for me of 'Kid A' in many places; and 'Beyond the Shrouded Horizon' from former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. But there were new discoveries too in the guise of Matt Stevens, a talented and versatile guitarist who as well as producing his third solo album, 'Relic' this year, also managed to release 'If it carries on like this we are moving to Morecambe' with his band The Fierce and the Dead; and from a band by the name of 'Majestic' who produced and album of epic prog called 'Labyrinth', available FREE here.

Albums I never got around to this year, that have featured in some of the seasonal listings, included 'Heritage' by Opeth, 'A Grounding in Numbers ' by Van der Graaf Generator, and '50 words for Snow' by Kate Bush. Maybe next year... Anything else I may have missed?