My Version:
Digital copy provided by the artist
My Thoughts:
Nocture (Soundtrack for an Invisible Film) is a lovely collection of work. It’s a sort of avant-garde landscape of sound. The album starts out moody – literally stormy in Near Snake Island, which I think might be my favorite track. It speaks to both my seasonal depression and my more general existential dread. Where Does a Moth Go? is similarly downbeat at the outset, but quickly evolves into something harmonious and ethereal. I feel like such a dork right now. Like I’m using all these reviewer buzzwords, but seriously – this album deserves the buzz. It’s really solid. There’s not a bad (or less good) track in the bunch.
I won’t run through every song for you, because I think you should check it out here – maybe even pick up a copy. You won’t regret it. It’s a truly lovely experience. And I feel like I have to say that as closers go, I don’t think they could have chosen a stronger outro than Cocoon. What a beautiful composition that is.
Nocturne has a really cool experimental vibe that I really enjoyed. There are some musical instruments throughout that I am wholly unfamiliar with, and I found myself deeply enamored of. I mean, the gudok? Lovely Slavic stringed instrument. The talharpa? Yes. Give me more bowed lyre. Melodica? I swear, at this point I thought we were just making things up. But nope. It’s a real thing. It’s a tiny keyboard with a mouthpiece you blow air into. Wild. Music is so fucking cool, you guys. All that and more can be found on Nocturne. Tell me you aren’t considering giving it a listen just to find out what those instruments sound like.
It seems as though Avi was looking to evoke a certain feeling, or spectrum of feelings that really jives with where I’m at right now. As I said before, there’s that aspect of depression and dread, but I think the purpose of the album is to show a transcendence over that. I think that’s why Cocoon resonates so deeply with me right now – it serves as a reminder that there is something beyond all the soul-crushing reality that is now for so many of us.
Anyway, do yourself a favor and give this album a listen. It released January 3rd (I’m a little later in posting this than I wanted to be on account of the existential dread/seasonal depression/et. al).
