Great Dismal

Nothing burst onto the shoegaze and metal scene with the brilliant Guilty of Everything, an album that perfectly juxtaposed the swooning nowhereness of the former with the pounding immediacy of the latter. It was such a perfect debut that the band struggled a bit to figure out exactly where to go from there. After a record that was too slick and melodic (Tired of Tomorrow) and one that set them back on the right track but neglected the metal side of the equation (Dance on the Blacktop), on 2020s The Great Dismal, they finally get the balance just right. The mix of melodic songs that show off Domenic Palermos way with a vocal harmony, thudding tracks that threaten to bore a giant hole into the speaker, and swelling dream pop that feels like the soundtrack to a queasy nightmare is perfect. For every song like A Fabricated Life that quietly strums and whispers like Slowdive on downers, another like the almost peppy Bernie Sanders impresses with a strutting power and melodic fury. On some tracks, the guitars whip up a proper storm that caresses the melody, while others have ripping sonic waves nearly capsizing them completely. The powerfully metallic Famine Asylum is a prime example, as is Say Less, a slinky, overdriven song that sounds a lot like a lost Curve classic. It says a lot about the album that one is never quite sure what the next song will bring. It could be classic, mind-bending shoegaze that envelops the listener in a hazy cloud (Blue Mecca) or it could be dark-as-night metalgaze (Ask the Rust). It could even be sunny(ish) guitar pop like Catch a Fade. That song is almost breezy, but not in the same kind of bland way the songs on Tired for Tomorrow were. This time Nothing are in full command of their sound and technique. By adding back the metal and amping up the melodies, the result is an assured and powerful album that delivers on the promise of the groups debut without copying it. Their growth as a band has been faltering at times, but now that theyve arrived, its good to see and wonderful to hear. ~ Tim Sendra