Nebelung’s album Mistelteinn might sound familiar to some people. Originally released about ten years ago this re-release is a reworking and even by extension of their influences the familiarity that can be heard on Mistelteinn is more than the sum of its parts, and yet through riffing on these common paths its folk styled homophony is beautiful and tranquil still.
Giving a soft melancholy that ruminates throughout these six pastoral tracks they tell tales of discomfort, sorrow and loss. It’s a journey in German prose that’s spoken like a lullaby so you’d be forgiven for feeling hazed and diffused in their sultry recital as delivered by vocalist Stefan Otto.
As accomplished as the pieces are there is a paleness in the technique appearing in the recording that stands methodical rather than graceful in connection to the songs. Their grave expression is perfect but the dynamics of each strike is performed in such lifeless and mechanical diction that it’s also apathetic and devoid of spirit. It’s not convincing in contrast to the wonderful and poetic lyrics.
Within the more energetic counterpoints the timbre of the phrasing becomes over exposed normalizing the instrumentation. Where the recording sits on a median of technical skills it neglects to fully express the dynamics which the lyrics allude to and although colourful the tones shift with little to no impact.
7/10
