Artist: Isla Ola
Title: Nebelmond
Genre: Coldwave
Release Date: 7th May 2021
Label: No EMB Blanc
Review Flash
German Coldwave duo ISLA OLA have been doing this kind of thing for years, and manage to poke a toe above the usual glacial plod of none-more-icy synth clutter that has begun to accumulate at an alarming rate beneath what was once beautiful and majestic. New album ‘Nebelmond’ is not going to hurry you, a lengthy intro giving way to the oddly organic sprouting of the wonderfully complex ‘Why Don’t You Come Around’, which is almost a mini album in itself. Good stuff. A heady mix of harshness and melancholy pepper the lengthy ‘Grave Of The Future’, simplicity drives the stark ‘Alles Grau’, and the title track does that running away and back again dance-thing beloved of goth clubs the world over. It’s dark, almost comically so, rumbling along like it’s pissed-off with just about everything, aiming to take up residence in your unsuspecting heart. And once it gets in there, believe me, it’s going to rumble on forever. ‘Gelaufen’ sounds throwaway, yet adds to itself here and there, making little unexpected twists - like much here, it’s a masterclass in restraint, waiting just for that moment to up its game. And final track ‘Versinken’ is dense and layered like humidity, a building up of thunderclouds in the distance, poised and impressive.
Conclusion: Breaking free within a genre that has frozen itself into stasis, ISLA OLA could well be the answer, and this clever, versatile and accomplished album will do them no harm at all. Ones to watch.
Rating: 8 / 10
