Genre/Influences: Electro-pop, dark-pop.

Format: Digital, CD, vinyl.

Background/Info: Hungarian duo Black Nail Cabaret has been active since 2008. Emese Arvai-Illes (vocals) and Krisztian Arvai (music) are now unleashing their fifth full length album, which also is the first one released on Dependent. The work deals with existential themes the band transposed into metaphors. It’s all about ‘the dark side of humanity, which is also one of the main aspects of “Gods Verging On Sanity”.

Content: Black Nail Cabaret will always remain a part of mystery to me. The band’s sound is often linked to electro-pop, but their new work again confirms a very personal approach in electronic music. It can be for sure defined as ‘pop’, but it rather sounds as a styled and melancholic voyage with a dense sensual layer on top. The clip of the previously released single “No Gold” perfectly illustrates the band’s symbiosis between image and music.

The trip Black Nail Cabaret invites us to is maybe more melancholic than previous releases. It also reveals a sensible and subtle production work mixed with the charismatic and sexy vocals of Emese.

+ + + : Black Nail Cabaret simply confirms to compose electro-pop music in the margin of traditional bands in the genre. They have something special and different, which for sure resulted from the fusion between their fascination with BDSM, minimalistic electro and dark-pop. It’s an intelligent exposure the band confirms album after album. I like the balance between the sensual, somewhat commanding vocals and the intelligence plus darkness of the music. “No Gold” remains an essential song characterized by a somewhat technoid lead, but I also have to mention “Maelstrom” revealing great bleeping sequences and “Spheres” plus “My Casual God” for their melancholia.

– – – : My single regret is that this album only features 9 songs. From a very personal point of view I also preferred the previous album “Pseudopop” (2018).

Conclusion: I think the best way to define Black Nail Cabaret is maybe ‘free-pop’; an electro-pop style without compromises or restrictions! Being now signed on Dependent might be seen as a form of consecration for a band, which deserves this recognition.

Best songs: “Maelstrom”, “No Gold”, “Spheres”, “My Casual God”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.blacknailcabaret.com / www.facebook.com/bncband

Label: www.dependent.de / www.facebook.com/dependent.records