7.5/10In the past year, some big names of the current post-rock scene have been touring throughout Europe, most of them bringing local acts to open. And whenever the likes of Mono, 65daysofstatic, Caspian, and other respected names in the community appeared in Germany, chances are great the German outfit Nihiling warmed up the welcoming crowd. It is an ideal situation for a young band to promote their new full length album to an audience they'd most likely be part of if they hadn't been in the sextet.
M[e]iosis brings together elements of slightly psychedelic downtempo (ambient if you will) intermezzos with what the kids these days regard as progressive rock, offering a mixture of blissful and edgy soundscapes. Although their essential song structure of intro-chorus-instrumental bridge-climax-outro recalls Oceansize and other Porcupine Tree flavored acts - especially taking into account the solid production - is not groundbreaking, it claims the listener's attention with its engaging, upbeat passages and holds it during their darkest moments of shredding guitars.
Unlike some of their competition in the field of the aforementioned bands, Nihiling easily steps out of their shade. The strength of the band is to be found in the profound balance between its metronome-like engine found in the nod-inducing drum work, the engaging lead and rhythm guitar, and well-placed layers of subtle sonic palette changes and production rendering. The added bonus of more classical instrumentation like piano and a string section every now and then, along with a female bass player who is responsible for weaving in some delightful hoarse and unabashed vocals strengthens the album's core, preventing the onset of boredom. In contrast with the majority of the release, the vocals stylishly scream out all of the tension built up over the past fifty minutes, reaching for the listener's spine and gently stroking it throughout the climax of this astonishing blend of pseudo-screamo and floating ambient post-rock.
Considering their relatively young age, it astonishing to hear such maturity and commitment to an album. With the support of a broad local base of listeners, it's only a matter of time and perseverance before the rest of the world will fall in love with Nihiling's brand of open(minded) post-rock.
written for and published by The Silent Ballet
Nihiling myspace
Abandon Records
