In Short: 'Náttfari' - 'D-Sessions' (album)

Sometimes it takes a little longer to develop an emotional connection to an album, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, because whilst albums like 'Beezewax' are an obviously attractive Indie Pop album full of melodies, maybe it lacks the real depth and substance to make it an album I'll keep going back to week on week. But thankfully there are other albums that grow beautifully on me over time, and the new(ish) album from 'Náttfari' does exactly that - 36 minutes of atmospheric and powerful post rock instrumental music, which at times seems somewhat self-indulgent, but I love as a complete album - rather than enjoying a collection of singles or within a playlist of diverse tracks.

So Náttfari are from Iceland, and they formed back in 2000, before going on a hiatus in 2002. Whilst our Nordic Music Review hiatus survived less than 2 months before being dragged back out to write more reviews, Náttfari managed 8 years before returning to release album 'Töf, and skipping on a few years they now have a new release entitled 'D-Sessions' recorded at FinnLand studios in Hafnarfjörður, 

There are so many highlights, because each track is beautifully handcrafted, with the gorgeous melody that develops in 'Tranquilo' being an early favourite, there's such subtlety and precision in each musical contribution. 'Serge' has particularly grown on me and is really beautiful, whilst the diversity in their songwriting is shown in 'Hafsjor', which gallops along at pace and I love the way they introduce the main musical theme just under 1 minute into the track, and concludes with a gradual build up a really effective conclusion. 'Sonic' is a thumping track, emphasising how good this band must be live (their early live performances at 'Airwaves' were legendary), whilst the album ends with the driving and swirling textures of 'Svartklettur'. 

I used the words self-indulgent to describe the Náttfari listening experience, but that's not meant in a negative way, rather that this is music to get totally absorbed by, and that as soon as I'm alone in the house I've taken great delight in streaming it through multiple speakers so that I can fully appreciate the beauty of the music. I guess the fact that it's purely instrumental will mean that it's one for the post rock purists to an extent, although that should not necessarily be the case, and for me there is just so much detail in 'D-Sessions' to enjoy over the next few months and years. I really hope that everyone will give this a few listens. 

Nordic Music Review 8/10