PRIDE AND FALL – Nephesh

I will try to do no grave injustice to “Nephesh” or accuse Pride And Fall of anything.

Plot is simple: the album is FILLED with hits, both club ~ and off-club ~. If there was a schoolbook on future-pop, Pride And Fall would be a band that read it, studied and learned it to perfection. Song after song is a demonstration of that knowledge. Electro DJs of the world, rejoice!

“Where do you see a plot, then?” you might ask. Well, they learned that book a bit too well. Close to the point of memorizing, to use term that’s appropriate. You might find in anatomy atlas of “Nephesh” some body parts that resemble ones of their fellow countrymen IOC and ApB (copyright protected, any similarity to bands named Icon Of Coil and Apoptygma Berzerk is purely intentional). Genetics? Sociology? Hm... I don’t think so, since the song called ‘December’ does not support the theory of shared ancestry or place of origin. VNV Nation is from Britain, right? Then the song must be a cover!?

Plot thickens...

But not to the point where you’ll hear ecstatic shout: “It is aliiive!! Aliiive!!!” and a sawn-up creature with pale face and its creator’s last name sits up. No, it is not that drastic. Interesting vocals, I must confess – pretty unique, without vocoding - that is one. What else… yes, ‘Delusion’… length: 1 minute 41 seconds. With proper care (lots of sunlight and occasional watering) it might grow to an amazing industrial track. More… of course, ‘Matriarch’: song of quality higher than any other on the album. Maybe because it has the highest percentage of originality. Lyrics are certainly 100% genuine. Yes, dear gentlemen S. Monsen and P. Waagen, you certainly can produce songs of your own style. It is recommended even, that young artists take strong influence of more experienced/established/known creators, but at some point they need to develop their signature work.

Culmination? None.

So, I don’t have a drama piece here. No case as well. Not much of a review, too. What is left for me to do then? At least I can give you a conclusion. Here it is:

With this debut album, Pride And Fall got their name known. They just need to earn acknowledgment and identity. Déjà vu entendu.

Oh, who cares after all??