Nothing Is Greater Than Nothing

 

I've done this a few times now. I thought I had posted about Downward Years To Come, the new release from Philly shoegazers Nothing. I was listening this afternoon to it and thought, “I can’t remember what I wrote about this” – turns out I haven’t. I’m not going entirely senile then…

It’s been out a couple months, through A389 Recordings, and I'm a big fan. It hits all the requisite wall of noise blanketing your ears goodness – a silky opening in ‘The Dives (Lazarus In Ashes)’ bleeds into a more explosive title track – but the moment that gets me is the singular track on the B-side, ‘The Rites Of Love And Death’. It’s a gentle, languid track that drifts away, an ethereal beauty that benefits from the acoustics and gentle vocals, almost like a cast-off from The Virgin Suicides soundtrack. It may seem a strange way to finish what has been a physical suite of music, but it fares incredibly well, the gentle coda to the despair that takes place beforehand.

 

At less than 25 minutes Downward Years To Come is fleeting, but the richness of these songs resonate. You can grab it here, hopefully still in white vinyl... If you're in Philly tonight, or close by, you need to get to Johnny Brenda's - Nothing will be supporting Psychic Ills. Now THERE'S a show!

Nothing – Downward Years To Come