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It’s been all of four years and they’ve gone through
some personnel changes but at last the new NeBeLNeST CD has
been released entitled ZePTO. And after one listen you can
tell these boys have been busy. This is the third studio release
for this French band that has more than impressed the critics
with their dense, angular approach to music construction.
***
The band’s core members remain Michael Anselmi (drums,
percussion) and the brothers Tejedor, Gregory (bass) and Olivier
(keyboards, devices, ocarina, violin). Partway through this
recording their original guitarist Cyril Malderez left and
was replaced by Sebastian Carmona. Rather than starting over
NeBeLNeST chose to incorporate both guitarists with Carmona
performing the guitar duties on three of the tracks and Malderez
the remaining four. ***
There are eight tracks on ZePTO ranging in length from
two-minutes to just over ten-minutes. Those of you who are
familiar with the band will know this is pretty frenetic material.
For those of you who’ve not yet sampled NeBeLNeST you should
know this is busy stuff. The music is dark, brooding and intense.
It’s angular and dissonant, almost angry. And yet there are
moments or sections of serene beauty. In many cases the guitars
perform the lead duties, setting the chaotic tone, while the
drumming is going on at breakneck pace. The keyboards most
of time perform the role of laying a somber sonic landscape
over which the other instruments roll and tumble. With ZePTO,
the band seems to have taken their compositions further out
there, creating even more aggression or chaos. This manifests
itself in a number of haunting soundscapes where sound takes
over from traditional music. But as in their previous efforts
the band are able to reel themselves in at the right time
to drive the composition home. It’s never noise for the sake
of noise. The one thing I wish they would have included in
the liner notes was some form of “what the songs about”. Each
of the eight instrumental pieces begs for some background
that puts the title and the music itself in context. ***
Fans of NeBeLNeST will love this new release. And so
will those who like the work of bands such as Djam Karet or
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. Admittedly ZePTO isn’t going to
be everyone’s cup of tea as it does require a certain level
of appreciation for music that is a lot more challenging.
By that I mean there isn’t much here that you’ll be able to
hum along with. But as with the jazz greats, the satisfaction
with NeBeLNeST comes from experiencing the passion with which
they perform their compositions. ZePTO is a worthy addition
to their catalog. ***
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