Nova Et Vetera – Au Delà (Album – Manic Depression Records)
Genre/Influences: Gothic, dark-wave, dark-rock.
Format: Digital, Vinyl.
Background/Info: French formation Nova Et Vetera has been active since 1998. “Au Delà” is the band’s third album, which was released in 2019.
Content: The tracklist is rather diversified although there are only 9 tracks featured. The album takes off a rather typical 80s dark-wave style reminding me a bit of The Virgin Prunes. We next get songs, which are more into dark-rock passages, but always merged with good-old dark-wave elements. Some pieces are dreamy-like while others are filled with a melancholic flavor. Most of the vocals are sung in English, but the female vocals are in French.
+ + + : If you like the dark hours of the 80s dark/cold-wave era, Nova Et Vetera is for sure a band that will catch your attention. The guitar playing empowers this darkness hanging over the songs. I have a preference for the more melancholic sounding “So Sick” and its delicate tune.
– – – : “Au Delà” sounds cool and fully enjoyable, but is missing a total apotheosis. And that’s for sure the real difference with some legendary 80s bands.
Conclusion: “Au Delà” is an easy listening opus, but not exactly what I would call a must have!
Best songs: “So Sick”, “A Pipe Dream”, “Playtime”.
Rate: (6).
Artist: www.novaetvetera.net / www.facebook.com/LegroupeNovaEtVetera
Label: www.manicdepressionrecords.com / www.facebook.com/manicdepressionrecords
About Nova Et Vetera
Nova Et Vetera is a French gothic rock and tribal formation founded on 1 January 1998, based between Oise and Val-d’Oise, per Discogs, which lists the members Mrlamort, Herrich Le Grand, Miss Lamort and C-Real. Discogs also credits two earlier self-released albums, “INextremis” (2006) and “Après La Mort” (2008), preceding the band’s Manic Depression Records era that includes “Dead Waltz” (2013), “Lightnings” (2016) and “Au Delà”.
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.
