Melanculia – Post Mortem (Digital/CD Album – UTM Music Group)
Melanculia is a project driven by Nino Sable, who released his first album in 2010 and has added several more albums to his discography over the years. The artist, who was born in Porto (Portugal) but is based in the Ruhr region (Germany), returned this year after an eight-year silence with his fourth album, consisting of fourteen songs. His musical universe lies somewhere between Chanson, Neo-Folk, and Balladry. The sound is primarily characterized by melancholy, which is transformed into beautiful, compelling songs, some of whose choruses are surprisingly catchy. A few synth sounds add an extra layer of melancholic atmosphere. The songs have a dreamy quality, yet remain consistently wistful. His deep, warm, and fitting voice is perfectly suited to the overall sound, with the acoustic guitar predominating throughout.
This is an album full of depth and emotion that completely convinced me and will undoubtedly appeal to fans of Rome. As far as I am concerned, it is a beautiful discovery. (Rating:8).
Sable recorded, produced, mixed and mastered the album himself in Essen between October 2025 and March 2026, playing all instruments and singing all vocals. Benno Schlicht added clarinet to “We Are Only Human”, and Sable also handled the artwork. Side-Line reported the release on the day it appeared, on 15 May 2026: Melanculia return with Nino Sable album ‘post mortem’.
Listen to “The Tower”:
About Melanculia
Melanculia is the solo project of Nino Sable, born in Porto, Portugal, and based in Essen, in the German Ruhr region. Sable writes, performs and produces the material himself, mixing indie and alternative rock with slowcore and dream-pop, with acoustic guitar at the centre of the arrangements.
The debut album “The Dazed Prophet” appeared on 18 October 2010, followed by “Paths” on 3 May 2013 and “Seventh Circle” on 10 December 2018. An eight-year gap separates that record from “Post Mortem”, the fourth Melanculia album, which was issued on 15 May 2026 and runs to fourteen tracks across roughly sixty-one minutes.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
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