Forming in the walled city of Hereford in 09, five piece the Nova Saints decamped to the urban sprawl of Bristol in a bid to develop their sound, and boy has it paid off. Their debut ‘NewFoundLand’ is the sound of 90s shoegazing being given a fresh injection of life. You see the Nova Saints sound thunders into your solar plexus with the fuzz box kick of Six by Seven at their peak, swirls with the glittering psych flecks of Sonic Boom, and the spiralling melodies and rhythmic loops of Ride. But they outstrip any of their influences, The Nova Saints sound is fresh and HUGE: they lay a wall, ney a tower of multi layered instrumentation for your ears to clamber over, while shooting vocals burn across blue hazy skies.
Released at the end of this month their debut album ‘New found land’ is a record littered with highlights, including unstoppable opener ‘Sugar Coated’ pounding Jesus and Mary Chain-esque swagger of ‘The Draft’. From the shattering wistfulness of ‘Indian Summer’ with it’s skyscraping strings and soaring riffs are anchored by wonderful double barrelled vocals that grasp onto the world with fleeting wonder, it’s the sound of the Pureessence if they were being blown apart by sheer passion and sonic ambition! To the melodic vocal interplay and time shifts of the more downtempo ‘What Does It Feel Like?’. These tracks depict a band with more than a few strings to it’s bow one that has wisely taken time out to hone their craft: creating a sound that’s teaming with possibilities. Bravo! The Nova Saints!
