Year: 2022
Total Time: 49:51
Label: Season Of Mist
After the release of 2018’s “Atoms Aligned Coming Undone”, Sylvaine (play by one of her favorite French poets, Paul Verlaine) Kathrine Shepard gives us “Nova”, an album that is both music and personal inspiration of a singer/composer trying to find her role in the world. The word “Nova” in terms of language is associated with words like nuova (Italian) or nueva (Spanish), which means “new” and speaks of rebirth, loss, temporary life, mourning, a situation where nothing lasts forever, looking forward as new doors open wide.
The ethereal dream gaze of 2014’s “Silent Chamber” gave way to a much gloomier Black Metal sound in “Wistful” of 2016 and in “Atoms Aligned, Coming Undone” the composer combined the heavier orchestration of the latter with the hooks of the first and the unique form of blackgaze, resulting in making it entirely her own property. This fourth album, however, is a much darker and more atmospheric affair than its predecessor, and “I Close My Eyes So I Can See” is easily the most easy-heard composition, and seems a bit out of place with the longer, gloomier tracks that surround it. “Mono No Aware” leans more on pure Black Metal than on ethereal, folk harmonies, with Shepard’s harsh vocals taking a more restrained, but icy, desolate approach. The twelve-minute “Fortapt”, on the other hand, really shows how effective the combination of sweetness with screaming and snoring can be. “Everything Must Come To An End” completes the album with a particularly exciting note, using Sylvaine’s voice and acoustic guitar before gradually and discreetly introducing various chords, creating a magical finish.
A while ago I presented the work of MOONSCAR, “Blood Moon”, in which Maria Brkc in her debut album followed the footsteps of the majestic to express her concerns. In “Nova” Shepard uses Blackgaze and presses on the teachings of ALCEST, I could even invoke Neige’s relationship with Shepard and parallel the course of the two projects as parallel lives. This, in my opinion, is unfortunately the weak point, since the person that follows those two bands will immediately understand the similarity and connection between them. SYLVAINE bet a lot on emotion, almost all compositions start with acoustic guitar, melody and a chord able to stand on its own, without any effects at all. The song will continue to manifest in different ways, but this main part of the guitar must be stable enough to be able to function emotionally on its own.
In conclusion, “Nova” is not as memorable as all previous SYLVAINE’s efforts. It is certainly not as direct or coherent, but in includes many interesting parts in order to reward patient listeners. It is a much more subtle and introverted experience and proves that the sound of SYLVAINE will have much more to give, in case it is unhooked from the chariot of ALCEST.
Rating:7/10
Editor: Dimos Karadimos
Related Link: SYLVAINE – Official Page
