I can’t deny that I’ve been really distracted in my spare time by the news over the last 48 hours, so I haven’t quite got into the new album ‘Nest’ by Velvet Volume as much I hoped. But it’s a really enjoyable listen from the 3 piece, probably more rounded and richer than their 1st two albums, and definitely less noisy.
So for the uninitiated (mostly in the UK I guess), they’re a Danish band consisting of 3 sisters, Noa, Naomi and Nataja, who started writing music together as a band back in 2013, building their reputation as live performers and going on to release those 2 albums, ‘Look Look Look’ and ‘Ego’s Need’. If you haven’t come across them before then start off by listening to ‘Runnin’ Wild’ (the 2017 version), it gives a good idea of where the band started out.
’Nest’ opens with the powerful, if slightly uncomfortable ‘You Look Like Your Father’, before things open up with ‘In The End’, which demonstrates their ability to write good tunes, mixed with silky harmonies and restrained drums and supporting instrumentals - the cello is particularly subtle. I can’t deny though, that as intriguing as it is to have rumbling bass, drums, saxophone and high pitched vocals all mixed together, as in ‘Mother and Man’, it is too wayward for my liking.
But after that they really get the balance right for my old ears, with ‘Remedy’, ‘Ordinary Pain’ and the stripped back ‘Ballerina’ offering melodies and enough interesting instrumental support - the saxophone solo in ‘Ordinary Pain’ really hits the mark. ‘The Way We Love’ and the cranked up ‘At Sea’ are almost catchy indie pop hits, before they go even further into pop territory with ‘Wanna Be Good’ and lose me altogether.
‘Nest’ is definitely recommended, mixing attractive, at times even ethereal melodies and harmonies with a powerful indie backdrop, and creating a sound that becomes quite difficult to exactly define, with twisted, warped indie rock that isn’t afraid to challenge and push boundaries. Renowned for their powerful live performances too, I suspect the recorded album doesn’t quite showcase the full intensity of the band. I’ll have to try and fix that by seeing them live sometime over the next 12 months.