Genre/Influences: Electro-pop.

Content: Some of you might have discovered Black Nail Cabaret (BNC) as the supporting act for Covenant and/or De/Vision. Black Nail Cabaret was already set up a couple of years ago and features a female duo composed of singer Emke (Emese Illes-Arvai) and Sophie (Sophie Tarr). Emese also contributed to an album of Architect (Daniel Meyer) so in the end we might say that this band already got some interesting opportunities to increase their popularity.

They define their sound as ‘synth noir’, which is an interesting description. There for sure is a rather dark mood hanging over the songs, but it first of all is a quite diversified pop exposure. The opening song “Hair” reminds me a bit of Kosheen and sounds like a real refreshing composition. A similar cool touch comes back at “Blonde”, which is driven by a nice pop tune.

But things get more interesting with “The Critical Cult Of Dora”, which moves into some minimalism and which is driven by passionate and sexy-like vocals. “Lovely girl” coming next up is somewhat similar also I here especially got fascinated by the vintage sound approach.

Black Nail Cabaret can be hardly compared to any other band and that’s precisely what makes their strength. They’re touching different electro-pop grounds, mixing retro elements with fresh electronic treatments and some dreamy passages. The work is quite original and that’s what you’ll hear when discovering “Satisfaction”, which is a great exposure of their creative mind.

Some passages are maybe a little bit too soft, but the vocal capacities of Emke inject a passionate and captivating element to the work. Just pay attention for “Down Again”, which sounds like having been written just for her great singing skills.

Conclusion: I’m not saying that Black Nail Cabaret is setting the universe of electro-pop alight, but those ladies are definitely injecting a fresh breeze into a genre that is too often repeating itself.

Best songs: “The Critical Cult Of Dora”, “Satisfaction”, “Down Again”, “Blonde”.

Rate: (DP:7½)DP.

Band: www.facebook.com/bncband

Label: www.negativegain.com / www.facebook.com/pages/Negative-Gain/212061438836984