Nosound's second album Lightdark received a very positive review on DPRP earlier this year. The album has now been re-released on Kscope Records as a deluxe 2-disc digipack edition with 24-page booklet. The bonus disc features a remastered version of the download EP Clouds.
Tracklist:About Butterflies And Children (3:02), Places Remained (4:29), The Misplay (4:32), From Silence To Noise (15:29), Someone Starts To Fade Away (8:55), Kites (8:30), Lightdark (8:45)
Bonus Disc: Cold Afterall (6.16), Like The Elephant? (5.40), You Said "I Am..." (4.48), Clouds (10.34), Lightdark Promo (video) (4.48)
In 2005 Nosound released their debut album Sol29, which was in fact a solo album by Giancarlo Erra, and from the praise that he received for the album gave him the opportunity to tour the record. Touring meant the need to gather some people around him and slowly Nosound evolved into a full band. In the interim period since Sol29 some live material has been released in the guise of an EP, Clouds, but now there is album number two Lightdark.
On Sol29 a mixture of electronic, ambient and post-rock could be heard, with the emphasis placed on the ambient side, whereas with this second album there is a much better balance between rock and ambience/atmosphere and thus the title of the album seems very well chosen. I shall not mince matters; Lightdark is an incredibly beautiful piece of work, it’s an emotional album with lots of melodies to die for. Another positive is that Erra made this a band recording and not another solo album,
as the band gives the music a very mature sound and a broader sound palette. Consequently the music has more of a ‘bite’ than Sol29. The album features some beautiful artwork by Giancarlo Erra, however as I just have a promotional copy, I’m missing out on the stylish 16 page booklet.
Lightdark starts with three short tracks (compared to the rest of the songs on the album) and first up is the atmospheric About Butterflies And Children which reminded me, along with some other tracks from Lightdark, of Sleeps With The Fishes, an album by Pieter Nooten and Michael Brook from 1987. Places Remained is a delightful pop song that has the first of several great guitar solos and features a chorus of great beauty. It’s also good to hear the real drumming of Gigi Zito instead of a drum computer - this certainly makes the song more powerful.
The Misplay is another atmospheric song, not unlike Sigur Rós, in which Erra repeats the same lyric a couple of times before the first of two guests take centre stage. Marianne de Chastelaine adds some beautiful and emotional cello to the song and her melody evokes a great sense of sorrow that seems to fit well with Erra’s lyrics. Following this From Silence To Noise slowly builds up the tension (great atmospheric keyboard sounds from Erra and Paolo Martellacci) until a big chorus opens everything up. Once over, the building up starts again, accompanied by some sober but great bass playing by Alessandro Luci and again a mighty Pink Floydian guitar solo. A lengthy ambient part slowly brings this song to an end. I have to say this song really blew me away as it contains the perfect balance between ambient music and rock music.
The next guest on the album is No-man vocalist Tim Bowness who lifts this already beautiful ballad (Someone Starts To Fade Away) to an even higher level. The incredible voice of Bowness does however make clear that Nosounds weakness, as such, lie in the vocal department.
One of the best songs on the album IMHO is Kites. Beautiful verses, a great chorus and an end section with a keyboard solo and De Chastelaine’s aching cello. Just perfect! The album closes with the title track - piano along with atmospheric keyboards accompany Erra’s voice. Although there are no drums to be heard in the song it still feels very powerful, with sounds weaving in and out while he is singing and a guitar solo closing up the proceedings.
With Lightdark Giancarlo Erra and his band have released a very impressive album. Sol29 (which incidentally has been reissued and remastered with two extra songs) showed that Erra was an extraordinary talent, who could go on to do great things. And you know what? On Lightdark he did.
