Dorena

Nuet

Written by: DR on 27/06/2013 19:34:59

With summer all but upon us, friends everywhere will be compiling playlists and looking for albums to soundtrack their days, evenings and ultimately memories for the weeks/months ahead. Typically when you think of summer music you think of pop, punk and of songs with huge choruses, but you definitely wouldn't think a genre like post-rock would lend itself to the drunken accord usually associated with the season. That is until you hear "Nuet", Dorena's excellent third LP.

Post-rock is so often music for intimate contemplation, somberly atmospheric and crushingly powerful at its end. But "Nuet" shows a side to the genre rarely tapped - an idea so prevalent on their label Deep Elm Records - of removing any pretension, instead making it fun and energetic. Though, rather typically, there are only seven songs and a total runtime of 50 minutes, the songs don't brood or drag; they breeze by, making 50 minutes feel like half that. Of course there are build ups and crescendos, but there is also game-y electronics, Fang Island-esque vocal harmonies, melodies so catchy and energy so intoxicating that you'll be humming and bouncing along with them instantly. At their quickest, Dorena bounce around with all the energy of a Pixar character; at their quietest, they are merely allowing you to catch your breath.

The opening track, "Semper", plays close enough to the genre traits for it to be familiar to the listener while also attesting to Dorena's ability to create immediate and uplifting melodies, something that really sets them apart as the album progresses. "Young Hearts of Summer" is the sound of the band - and summer - fully in stride, as layers of lush instrumentation dance atop the bouncing rhythms to enamour the listener. A song like "Dandelion", as close to straight-forward post-rock as they get, is a little more relaxed in its pacing, but the musicianship is undeniably solid and poignant throughout. "My Childhood Friend" has a delicately poised opening (even featuring a glockenspiel!), but, once the song kicks in, its combination of energetic riffs and its huge chorus is irresistibly unashamed and infectious. The slow-burning "A Late Farewell", the 'epic' of the album, explodes in a polished wall of sky-gazing sound, and closer "The All-Clear" is a fine way to wrap this record off by combining everything Dorena have established they do well throughout.

As they so accurately claim on their Twitter page, Dorena are 'post-rock without pretension'. It's through this sincerity and earnestness that they have been able to make "Nuet" such a memorable, infecting and affecting listen, even for those not typically fans of the genre. Not only is it one of the most assured and immaculate post-rock albums of the year, but, if you allow it, it will also become one of the most memorable and important albums of your summer.

8

Download: Young Hearts of Summer, My Childhood Friend, A Late Farewell
For The Fans of: Moonlit Sailor, Last Lungs, Fang Island, Sigur Ros
Listen: Facebook

Release Date 12.03.2013
Deep Elm Records

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.