NEVBORN

Another finely packaged product from Hummus Records (the front panel of the digipak opens out to, quite literally, provide the bigger picture), here we have NevBorn's 'Five Horizons'. Described as post-hardcore in press blurb, I do so hate that term... ambiguous to some, nonsensical to others, and unjustly generic to those who are happy to continue appropriating it. Hardcore elements are aplenty throughout the album, predominantly with the vocals, as are what some would construe as post-rock elements in the instrumentations (another wildly vague umbrella term that seems to persist). How I would actually describe NevBorn's music is a heavy/ambient amalgam (sometimes discretely; other times fused) with neatly layered instrumentations that evoke all kinds of sonically emotive provocations, in the most immersive of ways, and topped off with an unrelentingly harsh vocal attack that occasionally gives way to some clean singing. While I generally cannot fault the music on 'Five Horizons', which has just the right balance of innovation, accessibility and emotional depth to engender listening immersion, I think songs could have benefitted from a few more clean vocals here and there. The harsh growls are fine for what they are, although become a little two-dimensional after a while with little variance in emotional expression that's warranted by the music's affective inherence. One can only imagine how much better this would have sounded with the vocal might of someone such as Linus Jägerskog from the long defunct Burst at the mic - a man who indubitably nailed it every single time with the emotional aspect of his harsh growls. Minor vocal criticisms aside, there's still much to recommend here - a musically and compositionally adept suite of tunes that are able to convey so many different moods; this is where NevBorn's strength undoubtedly resides.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Hummus Records

Album

FIVE HORIZONS

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

50:02

RELEASE DATE:

20th March 2015

TRACK LISTING

1) Sending a Message
2) From the Edge of the Universe
3) For Seven Days
4) Beyond the Five Horizons
5) Between the Skies
6) For the King of Kings
7) Ozymandias

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Switzerland

"...a heavy/ambient amalgam (sometimes discretely; other times fused) with neatly layered instrumentations that evoke all kinds of sonically emotive provocations, in the most immersive of ways..."