Reviews
2006-04-24
Rome’s Novembre chose to open their fifth full-length album with “Verne” (perhaps meaning “Spring”, as a symbol of new beginnings) with an immediate resemblance to another atmospheric rock/doom act which some of you might recognize as Katatonia from their past releases (perhaps “Last Fair Deal Gone Down” most of all); but the comparison between the two doesn’t stop there and it doesn’t mean Novembre are any less original, on the contrary, Novembre produced one of the most refreshing albums I’ve heard in a while.
Novembre manage to create such an ethereal form of melancholy that it is just beautiful.
Songs like “Verne” (the opener I mentioned before), “Reason” and “Aquamarine” wrap around you and send waves of chill down your spine, as if you were gazing at the ocean on a cold winter day.
“Jules” starts as the band’s moving interpretation of the ethnic riffs/strums that soon gets swallowed by a swelling distorted guitar and uplifting drumwork, while “The Promise” is their display of how to properly use electronic repetitions in a way that is refreshing like a mid-summer rain.
Two highlights here are the well-built “Memoria Stoica/ Verto” which is a possible hit and the fast & furious “Comedia” which rushes and features vocals which can be best described as tearful.
This album manages to invoke many emotions with its pure sound and occasional use of death growls and acoustic guitars strumming bleakly which widen the emotional spectrum in farther.
The Italian language, which is dominant in most of the tracks, doesn’t harm the perfection of the experience; it isn’t a downside but rather an upside since the lyrics have greater emotional depth which a language as emotional as Italian.
“Nothijngrad” closes the album with a lot of dynamics, from a hollow acoustic guitar to a distortion feedback and a futuristic vibe managing, like each of the other songs, to stay loyal to the constant tone Novembre have adapted and, like each of the other songs, functions as an individual.
Ofer Vayner
