NVRVD

Following last year's split EP with Coilguns, German three-piece NVRVD are back with an EP of their very own, 'Coma'. Apparently composed in "an old mansion in the middle of the woods" they "used the loneliness to concentrate on writing." So I guess the expectation, thematically, is of isolation and melancholy. That certainly holds true for the resultant compositions although 'Coma' is effectively a two-headed beast as the general mood of desolate grief and despondency is punctuated throughout by discordantly aggressive passages. There are sections characterised by menacingly melancholic melodies that've been injected with a sonic malice and, despite its unsettling inherence, holds the attention in its despair laden clutches. Although oppressive through its pervasive gloom, it's also jarring through the sporadic bursts of aggression, so the listening journey when digesting 'Coma' is very much a matter of reeling you into its inherent melancholy before battering your senses with moments of aural ferocity. It's an effective duality, although there's something a little lacking in its execution, or general song structures - that is, the switch between down-tempo gloom and up-tempo hostility is, at times, a little too jarring, so it doesn't feel like there's a natural progression within the compositions, rather disparate, mismatching parts cannibalised from a variety of song ideas. Style-wise, it's pretty much what you'd expect from NVRVD although the closing track, the five minute instrumental number 'Niederohe', veers into post-rock territory, particularly during its opening bars, and adheres to slightly more optimistic-sounding melodies, thus 'Coma' ends with a moment of hope rather than its gloomy/aggressive dichotomy. Overall, the EP is a pretty engaging listen and is most definitely worth checking out for those who like their music both oppressively gloomy and hostile.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Hummus Records

EP

COMA

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

22:00

RELEASE DATE:

1st June 2013

TRACK LISTING

1) Oberohe
2) Impartial Eyes
3) We Are
4) An Echo to Your Unbeliefs
5) No Heaven
6) Niederohe

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Germany

"...the listening journey when digesting 'Coma' is very much a matter of reeling you into its inherent melancholy before battering your senses with moments of aural ferocity."