So rich and enveloping it will keep all enchanted for years to come…
Review by Brady Deeprose
Release date: 27 April 2015
When a friend of mine, over a year ago now, told me he saw a two-piece ambient band dressed as crows, I struggled to take him seriously enough to give them a listen. Fast-forward to a few months ago and I’m sat awestruck in my office as the Build Seas / Dismantle Suns double EP draws to a close. A melting pot of drums, keys, guitars and samples, their creativity knows no bounds and they write unrestricted by a traditional band setup. Nordic Giants have such a unique beauty and grace to their music that their intense, atmospheric live shows are almost without need.
On their first full-length album, the gauntlet was really thrown down. Now they have to keep up an intense atmosphere and sustain the emotive melodies for a full 40+ minutes while keeping their ideas fresh… and they not only manage it, but really push beyond anything they’ve ever done before. The band have displayed a more socially conscious mind-set, tracks like ‘Evolve Or Perish’ openly condemning the current state of humanity and calling for change. The new cinematic video for single ‘Rapture’ displays this beautifully: a dystopian future where the Giants drag a gas masked figure across a stunning landscape to a single tree to unlock oxygen and finally remove their masks.
Outside of their visuals, the crow suits I mentioned earlier are a real thing, what’s truly striking about Nordic Giants is the pure size of their music: for a two-piece to create such deep, textured songs is just astounding. The album features an array of guests, mainly female singers, to give voice to several of the tracks and they have chosen well: most notably the carefree voice of Beth Cannon is the perfect choice for ‘Rapture’.
Listening to A Seance Of Dark Delusions is an experience to be undertaken in one sitting. I’m not going to pick it part track by track as that’s now how music like this works. Sit in a dark room, maybe have a visualiser program up, and just let the music wash over you. Nordic Giants have created a soundscape so rich and enveloping that I’m sure it will keep all their listeners enchanted for years to come.
9 out of 10
Track listing:
- Elysian Dreams
- Evolve Or Perish
- Rapture [Feat. Beth Cannon]
- Give Flight To The Imagination [Feat. Freyja]
- Dissolve [Feat. Saturday Sun]
- Illuminate
- Futures Dark [Feat. Nadine Wild Palmer]
- Black Folds
- A Thousand Lost Dreams
