Nadja - Skin Turns To Glass

Nadja is an unbelievably prolific band. Since they started in 2002 they have released well over a dozen full-lengths on several different labels along with some EPs and singles. They step back into their past for their latest release.

Skin Turns To Glass was originally released in 2003 on a small CD-R label. The duo of Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff have re-recorded the album, which got a very limited original release. The songs on the CD are epic, with the four tracks clocking in at 80 minutes. Nadja's music has been classified as drone, ambient and experimental, among other things, and all of those descriptions fit.

The songs are thickly layered with doomy guitar riffs, atmospheric keyboards and a slow majestic pace. The low end rumbles while the myriad of other things happening in each song ebbs and flows between crushing heaviness and a glimmer of light. Dissonant distortion and fuzzy guitars ease into ambient and experimental passages before the barrage begins again. The album wraps up with a nearly 30 minute bonus track that is a bit different than the rest of the songs. It floats along for nearly the whole song before ratcheting up the intensity for the last couple of minutes.

The vocals are very sparse, and the growls are buried in the mix and act as another instrument rather than a primary focus. Groups like Nadja and the whole drone/experimental genre aren't for everyone. The songs can be challenging to listen to, and the lack of traditional song structure turns some people off. But there are plenty of those who appreciate the creativity and originality of groups like Nadja, and they'll find Skin Turns To Glass right up their alley.

(released April 8, 2008 on The End Records)