The term “All killer, no filler” was made for an album like Feed The Fire and a band like Seattle’s Nox Novacula. Like its’ predecessor, 2021’s Ascension, FTF is a slim less than ten tracks of just stunning Goth-flavored Post-Rawk that yanks the torch carried by Bauhaus and Joy Division into the now and delivers the future of that genre today.
We recently attended the Totally Tubular traveling circus and while it certainly was filled with its’ share of “one hit wonder” artists, it also boasted an impressive array of New Wave legends (Thomas Dolby, Modern English) that brought Goth and Electro into the mainstream in the ’80’s which brings us to the opening salvo off Nox Novacula’s newest with a veritable Synth symphony bringing “Plague” to the light before the NN dark bombast led by Charlotte Blythe’s biting vocal delivery begins.
“Disappear” is haunting and ethereal with Dav Tafoya’s vibrant bass lines accenting the static stick work from Ezra Bolotin on this particular track while later on, “No Forgiveness” flips the script and sees Tafoya in a foundation role as Bolotin bangs away during that frenetic feast of sound. “Flood” has been stuck in our head the instant it dropped about a month or so ago (With a similarly enthralling video treatment which can be viewed here) with more Electro elements from Tafoya’s synths at the forefront perfectly meshing with Zu Leika’s shimmering guitar lines and Blythe’s soaring wail while “Stay” is another glimpse into where Nox Novacula could go with those synthetic sounds as the backbone… or maybe this is the NN of the now and this their own “Cities In Dust”.
“Wolves” just screams “GOTH ANTHEM” the instant it starts and doesn’t let up with the second taste of Feed The Fire from June, “Sirens”, rallying next. Speaking of early tastes, “Cursed” was the first when released in May to herald the coming new album and is heavy on the Leika shreds and screams with Blythe supplying a succulent swoon that’s mesmerizing and Tafoya and Bolotin both steadily striking a rhythmic balance leading toward the gripping finale of “Revenge” that utilizes everything in the NN aural arsenal to make a final lasting impression.
Feed The Fire arrives through Artoffact Records on August 2nd. Pre-orders aplenty can be found at this location here and at the stream below with the latest news from Nox Novacula available by heading here or here.