Death In June "Nada!"
Alright, so I decided to put my attention to one of my favorite DI6 albums, and really work my mind to put nib to paper.
The thing with
"Nada!" is that It is probably one of the more eclectic Death In June releases, and it ping pongs between New Order dance tunes with an overt sense of melancholy with synths, chimes, and drum machines to acoustic ballads that have a seemingly gothic aesthetic with trumpets and timpanis. There also is a hint of Throbbing Gristle-esque industrial moments throughout the album as well. This album was more the product of Patrick Leagas than that of David Pearce, so this
is one of the reasons for this almost black sheep of an album in a rather uniform back catalog.
The album opens with the somber and dark acoustic ballad
"The Honour of Silence" which is more the sound DI6 is known for. It's a great opener, and an overall good tune that stands strong just by itself, horns, multi-tracked Vocal melodies, reverb infused drums with a straight acoustic guitar. The lyrics themselves seem to deal with sexual/S&M themes, the more I
look at the lyrics, the more I come to this conclusion, and the fact that David Pearce actually has stated that his homosexuality is indeed an important part of his music.
Next we have
"The Calling (MkII)", a complete shift from an acoustic ballad to a New Order electronic affair. Whirling synths in the background, drum machines, and a simple melody played on a clavier all of which accent the brilliant vocals by Patrick. If you listen to Death In June's later material, and have not heard their earlier material it may be a bit surprising to hear whatever is coming out of your speakers.
The next tune is
"Leper Lord" just a short ballad with vocals and guitar from David, and background vocals and timpani from Patrick, a nice little transition track (with an awesome chorus) to another dance music track. O' leper lord,my leper lord, make the angels cry.
"Rain of Despair", not exactly my favorite off the album, but it goes well with the album as a whole. A catchy drum track sampled and played alongside short buzzing synths with what might be David Tibet "singing".
Now we get back to the good stuff.
"Foretold" starts of slow, chugging along with warm synths, and a simple "one two" *bass* *clap*. It starts up with an atonal horn and another layer of more complex sampled drums. Patrick then chimes in with his awesome tenor range and use of falsetto. One of the better songs on the album, mainly because of Patrick.
One of my favorites on this album,
"Behind the Rose (Fields of Rape)" has probably the best vocals on the entire album. It starts off with chilling death rattles, and in comes the guitar with more of Patrick's awesome vocals. The lyrics are particularly morbid, seemingly dealing with invading foreign armies of centuries past pillaging and "reaping" rewards from their conquests. The chorus is one of my favorite parts, with a less than subtle "ACK ACK" piercing through Patrick's vocals. Later on in the song, the bridge comes forth and and a trumpet invokes call and response with Patrick's repeated chanting of "Crushed crushed crushed!", ****ing amazing.
Next up is arguably my favorite DI6 tune.
"She Said Destroy" has so many things I love about it, it's just such a catchy tune, the lyrics, the chords, the rhythm section, the vocals, it's almost perfect. It starts with crushing timpani building up to the first verse with the first words "Into the darkness, into the darkness!" with a ABABCBC type chord progression. Then comes the chorus, the ****ing amazing chorus introduced by a D chord and the mother****ing timpani that's presence increases with the following chorus. "SHE SAID DESTROY IN BLACK NEW YORK x1000". Also, chimes.
"Carousel" follows next, another little dance number with a dark S&M feel with acoustic guitar coming on. If this doesn't feel like something that could be played in a gay S&M club, I don't know what could be.
"C'est un rêve" is probably one of the more intense songs on the album (I saw this played live, with David shouting "Who Is Bin Laden, Who is Saddam, Who Is Gaddafi?". This live experience gave me a little epiphany. This song isn't about Klaus Barbie, or figures of infamy so to speak, but what they mean to a certain country or people, and to give people something they can hate without consequence
"Crush my Love" feels like what it says on the title. One of David's loves or friends cheating or betraying him, crushing his love and dreams, and the resulting despair following. Not entirely fond of the vocals here either, and the "Judas..." at the end feels a bit cheesy as some of the instrumentation (That almost hilarious casiotone).
Following suit we have
"Torture Garden" and
"The Calling", the first of which is started out with Gregory chants, and multitracked chorus. It's a bit minimal, but it still feels like has some heft though. The original "The Calling" is next, definitely what I think of when I think of DI6, starts out with warbly synth, and serious John Carpenter Vibes. Some lyrics and structure pretty much, but probably the better version of the two. Acoustic guitars, lots of hand percussion, a flanging synth in the background, percussion hits harder. It feels like it's aged better, and the chorus just really feels good to the ears.
"Doubt to Nothing" starts off sounding almost like another dancefloor tune, but in comes the standard acoustic fare with hand percussion and a bit of harmonica. Some great singing in this one, nice and smooth, a bit dark. A timpani comes in about halfway to introduce another layer, great little touch.
"Carousel (Bold Mix)" A remix of carousel, not too great, but then again it's a remix on an 80's neofolk album, what would you expect?
"The Last Farewell" A somber little synth with x1000 reverb and delayed drums. Some "oooos" and "ahhhhs" completely drowned in reverb. Also, is that Is that Santa Claus I hear in the background? Oh yeah, there are some vocals in this, but they come up more than halfway through, and disappear just as suddenly as they popped up.
Ahhh, the last song *whew* this took a long time to complete (more than a year because I saved it and forgot about it till now).
"Born Again" starts off with really interesting synth lines, very buzzy and dancey, and is that Patrick again? This is a very, very 80's song, with very, very 80's drums. If I were to DJ a typical 80's dance night with A-ha! this would fit right in the setlist. Definitely not a bad song, but again this is not what you would expect from DI6.
Final Thoughts? Well, well, it's still one of my favorite DI6 albums just because of the variety and exploration on it. Considering what David is known for, I thinks it's pretty surprising he went this far out of his comfort zone. There are a few missteps on this record though, especially with some of the dancier tunes, but it's still a really enjoyable listen, albeit a long and inconsistent one.
7.5/10