Nicolas Jaar - Nymphs II

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  • Though it's only a two-track single, there's a weight to Nymphs II. This is Nicolas Jaar's first solo release since 2011's Space Is Only Noise, the album that propelled him to crossover stardom. In the meantime, he's scored films, started a successful record label and taken the world by storm with his band DARKSIDE (which has since disbanded). These projects have been defined by Jaar's unique ability to find powerful feelings in the most muted moods, as well as a tendency to go long. Both of those traits are even more pronounced on Nymphs II, which offers two of the strongest songs he's put his name to. Everything here feels temporary. Voices and instruments stretch and warp beyond recognition, while other parts distort on impact or just disappear altogether. On "The Three Sides Of Audrey & Why She's All Alone," crash-bang drums break a delicate web of sound, before Jaar's vocals lull the storm back to serenity. On "No One Is Looking At U," his voice is a constant presence in the background, tying it all together with a simple melody that sounds like something he might have sung absent-mindedly in the shower. Grandiose yet bedroom-intimate, "No One Is Looking For U" vaguely resembles "A Time For Us," Jaar's cagey dance floor anthem from a few years back. It's rarely straightforward, but there are striking moments when its potent bassline, swelling organs and vocals come together, before it all dissipates into a drifting outro. As with the best of Jaar's music, Nymphs II is alluring, confounding and full of spine-tingling moments.
  • Tracklist
      A1 The Three Sides Of Audrey & Why She's All Alone Now B1 No One Is Looking At U
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