«Has it ever happened to you to like an album but not have anything exciting to say about it, except "I really like this record!" ? Well, "distances" is one of those records..Then again, it would be a shame to hide this little treasure. So:

The Swiss based duo, consisting of Vasi Vallis (music, production) & Henrik Iversen (lyrics, vocals), made an impressive entrance to the synthpop scene about a year ago with their e.p "blind?", just a small taster of what to come..."Distances"... O.k, the debut NNB album is not breaking ground. Not at all. It wasn't intended to do so, but is refreshing the synthpop scene just in time and overall is a damn good record! Beautiful melodies & catchy tunes in the tradition of Depeche Mode or Camouflage, dressed with the future pop synth sounds of Vasi & the deep emotional vocals of Henrik. His voice made me reminisce the good old early 80's singers, like a young Tony Handley maybe (yes, the Spandau Ballet one!)..Throat-like singing that is more effective on the low keys, though a Deine Lakaien comparison would seem very possible, like in the moody opening of "Guardian Angel". The opening track of the album is a definite club-hit that moves body & soul from the very first hearing. Furthermore , it's about "memories"..selective ones! A "screen-memory" song..really touching.
The same goes for the melancholic "answers" & "surviving" that are emotionally tripping you to past relationships, when songs like "now or never" or "hunting" are more relaxed & careless. The synth sounds on "hunting" are very 80ish, which i really like. A touch of early Human League or Yazoo, groovy beat and naive lyrics. Makes you smile.
"Pause" is one of my favourite tracks here, with a great hookline & the vocoder effect so well-fitted among the warm voice of NNB's singer.

"Distances" is definitely a very promising debut, that doesn't sound at all like a debut and distinguishes NamNamBulu from the "synthpop crowd". And more important, what i really wanted to say about it, is that "I really like this record!!"

Review made by Spacelab
for SynthpopAvenue.gr
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