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NeBeLNeST — Nova Express
(Cuneiform Rune 154, 2002, CD)

Nova Express Cover art

Dark, dense, and intense sums up the excellent second effort from France’s NeBeLNeST. With the help of Thinking Plague / 5uu’s Bob Drake as producer and some live gigs, a more mature NeBeLNeST easily surpasses their outstanding debut of 1999. All but one of the tracks weigh in at over ten minutes in length, and this gives the band plenty of time to develop themes and get into some involved soloing. The disc takes all of sixteen seconds before the band really starts to cook, so fans of music with an intense edge will not be disappointed. The NeBeLNeST sound starts with a throbbing Zeuhl-influenced fuzz bassline and pounding drums for a very energetic foundation. An eerie keyboard sound is then combined with some majestic guitar for a high-octane front line. There are elements of Crimson, Magma, and Pulsar at times but this exciting young band has developed their own original approach. They are also extremely good improvisers, which creates an additional sense of never knowing where the music is headed. They build high levels of tension that are only minimally resolved, and this makes for a listening experience that commands your attention. Even though it’s very early in the year, Nova Express is an easy choice for my top ten list for 2002.

by David Ashcraft, Published 2002-04-01

For the French quartet's second album, the band has procured Bob Drake as producer and joined Cuneiform records, but both new developments have left little difference in the band's music. While the production is a bit better, the group's music remains true to form, although the new album has no overt improvisation and there are only five pieces, three over nine minutes and two at about five each. NeBeLNeST still have a sound that resembles Shylock, Pulsar, or Carpe Diem with Roger Waters on bass and a hardcore drummer, infusing dark symphonic rock with the energetic intensity it so often deserves, but doesn't get. Strangely, the stridently dissonant and unusual melody lines don't find their analogy in the rhythm sections, which remains at a somewhat basic or straightforward level. So while stormy, diminished Mellotron chords forebode the coming of darkness, creating gloomy atmospheres and premonitions of impending doom, the impetus of the album rocks back and forth from the full-tilt to the laid back, at times almost predictably. Nova Express is certainly a more mature effort, but it's also less of a momentous surprise. For fans of Mellotron and 70s progressive, this will be a no brainer, although the creative longevity of the band will undoubtedly be determined by the next release.

by Mike McLatchey, Published 2002-04-01

This is the first time I have heard NeBeLNeST, and boy do they cook up a Hungry Man Dinner of Crimson-inspired fusion with a low-end wallop! Bass and drums are probably what create the closest link to the famed 1973 Wetton / Bruford rhythm-section-as-equal-partner textbook, providing much of the foundation that helps their pieces build in intensity to break into Red-era blowouts along the lines of "Starless" or "One More Red Nigthmare." But then there is a Magma presence as well. And on guitar they veer more towards a jazz inflection that broadens their vocabulary. The key to what helps the band detour from mere King Crimson emulation though is the keyboardist, one of the most daring and original players I have heard in years, especially from America. The way his frantic and dense spider web playing style fits into the matrix of NeBeLNeST's compositions is something I don't think has ever been approached before. My complaint with their music would be directed at its unrelenting nature: throughout the CD I was expecting some vocals, or a little change of color to brighten up the setting — the addition of which would deepen their creative ethos — but it didn't really happen. What they do however they certainly do with the conviction and no dearth of chops. NeBeLNeST makes no disguise of its intentions, and apologizes to no one for its unabashed nature.

by Mike Ezzo, Published 2002-04-01

Filed under: New releases, Issue 24, 2002 releases

Related artist(s): Nebelnest

More info
http://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/nova-express

 

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