CATALOGUE: FM72
ARTIST:
NIMBLE ANIMAL
TITLE:
BLEAK MOMENTS
FORMAT:
DIGITAL
RELEASED: September 2013
BUY: DIGITAL DOWNLOAD AT BANDCAMP
TRACKLISTING:
1. Ghillie Forever
2. The Sigh
3. Bleak Moments
4. Mulled High
5. Opal Fruits
6. Back N Forth
RELEASE DETAILS:
Bleak Moments is the second release from Nimble Animal aka Brisbane-born musician Dom Stephens who also makes music under his more beat-centric guise Outerwaves, and was a founding member of Brisbane folk outfit Oh Ye Denver Birds. Nimble Animal’s debut album Dumb Dirge was released in 2012 via Melbourne label Fallopian Tunes, and with this newly founded moniker Dom had an outlet to explore live looping, solo performance and other alternative methods of recording and playing live.
On Bleak Moments Dom continues the rich sonic experiments of his debut, which are now underpinned by an indie-pop sensibility making for a more immediate and personal release. This pop leaning is most apparent on lead single Back N Forth which combines a mantra-like vocal melody and catchy synth hook to create an instant avant pop classic.
Elsewhere Dom takes cues from electronic music experimentalists such as Tangerine Dream and Jürgen Müller (Ghillie Forever, Bleak Moments), counter balanced by his pop music ventures (Mulled High, Opal Fruits), all of which are swathed in Dom’s warmly inviting production.
Bleak Moments is a welcome addition to the Feral Media catalogue, epitomising the labels ethos in promoting interesting and eclectic local music.
REVIEWS
“It’s a gorgeous listen, from the shoegazing opener ‘Ghillie Forever’ and shape-shifting ‘The Sight’ (its vocals contrasting with the mostly instrumental surrounds) to the pop-burnished ‘Opal Fruits’ and the laughing-gas chillwave of ‘Back N Forth’. All six tracks are lush and melt-prone, as if they’re dissolving even as we threaten to get an actual grasp on them”
– Mess + Noise
“There’s something uncannily native about these sounds as they layer and start to merge….Electronic beats slowly dissolve into birdsong until the entire space is alive with the hidden sounds of life around you”
– FBi Radio
