Nice Cold Nation – Cartésiens (Album – Nice Cold Nation)
Genre/Influences: Wave-Pop, Dark-Wave.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: French musician Christophe D. has released an impressive number of works in less than ten years. “Cartésiens” features nine songs inspired and driven by the works of famous writers and poets like Arthur Rimbaud, George Orwell, Paul Elurad and Paul Verlaine.
Content: The sound and lyrical influences aren’t that different from previous works and yet it sounds different. There’s a noticeable growing maturity you can hear in most details of the production. The lyrical side of the album is touched by great poetry -featuring an adaptation from poems by the aforementioned names. This work will ravish fans of Opera Multi Steel.
+ + + : The album takes off with the great “Le Dormeur Du Val” -which is a poem by Rimbaud. Guitar and electronics together with the lyrics create a sensation of dark magic. I also like the reverie emerging at “Nos Visages De Glace” and “Chanson d’Automne” which is a poem by Paul Verlaine. The last mentioned song is characterized by a legendary extract used during WWII by the French resistance.
– – – : I’m missing a bit passion in some of the vocal parts which also is the main aspect I’m missing in the music. Globally speaking, Nice Cold Nation made a serious step forward.
Conclusion: Poetry and music as a Dark-Wave creation.
Best songs: “Le Dormeur Du Val”, “Nos Visages De Glace”, “Chanson D’automne”, “En Flammes”.
Rate: 7½.
Artist: https://nicecoldnation1.bandcamp.com
About Nice Cold Nation
Nice Cold Nation is the wave-pop and dark-wave project of French musician Christophe D., who has released a large body of work in under ten years. The project draws on the poetry of writers such as Arthur Rimbaud, Paul Verlaine and Paul Eluard for its lyrics, adapting their texts into song form. “Cartésiens” continues that approach across nine tracks, including a setting of Rimbaud’s “Le Dormeur Du Val” and Verlaine’s “Chanson d’Automne”.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.
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.
