Splattering a dark shade of 80’s goth over a shining example of interesting sound engineering London based duo Black Nail Cabaret are making alternative synthpop. Originally from Hungary, in 2016 the band saw further changes to their situation as keyboardist Sophie Barr> flew the nest to rise on her own wings. Dichromat is their third full-length with now dedicated member Krisztian Arvai on keys.
Synthpop is maybe a misnomer for their take on synth noir with Futurepop being a much more robust label to sit them under. The influence of new wave is apparent throughout the new album, although desaturated, to bring out the contrast between euphoria and maudlin considerations. Where they float like a cloud threatening to fall with tears of hope on a concrete garden while breaking the unnatural artifice of pop culture like a natural expenditure.
Dichromat starts how it means to go on, by offering intrigue through its soft mystique taking you on a journey of self-discovery and of emphatic meta. Yet through its dreamy artistry the context is kept masterfully urban and mundane. Injecting a dose of realism into the fantastic rainbows of sonic colour that the synthetic elements provide while in its passive aggressive charm it retains an air of calmness and serenity that opens up like a portal to contention.
Despair is the name of the game here but it’s said that winners are those who know how to lose in style, and Black Nail Cabaret surrender to this idea thoroughly on their new album, taking on the downward spiral with finesse like a synchronised swimmer in an ocean of sadness.
Black Nail Cabaret have a distinctive frame on Dichromat matching fears and hopes in a duo tone frequency of love and wonder. Expressing their feelings in majestic synthetic fibers as they are hand woven into a marvelous coat of arms. While coordinating seamlessly into a gothic ensemble that is anachronistic in its influences and progressive in its adventure.
8/10
