Northvia

Score: 7/10

I don't like to start a review on a negative note, but I have to admit that thelast few months for instrumental music haven't had me on the edge of my seat. I can only think of a few releases that I have truly cared for Unfortunately it seems with every album of great quality, there are fifty releases that seem to drown into the abyss, if not more. There doesn't seem to be anything challenging or risky coming out lately, and Nothvia's Pure Magic unfortunately doesn't have those two properties either.

The sextet from Orlando have all the fundamental elements that we all know of: duelling, echoing guitars complimented by driving bass and drums. This all creates the seemingly standard affair that falls into the description at the beginning of this review, right? Well… no, not in this case. While the songs may have a familiar formula, the music Northvia produce is inspired, uplifting and immensely enjoyable.

Using the weapons noted above, they weave together beautiful and clever melodies that sweep the listener along through their songs. Northvia continually progress their music and ideas within each track, not letting any melody or phrase outstay its welcome. This is the key to why I loved this CD so much. There are no drawn-out eight minute sections filled with only one note, just great melodies and harmonies between the band members. Another thing I must mention is the recording quality, which helped me to enjoy the album even more. It has a raw edge to it, adding energy and immersion, almost like you are hearing the band live.

Overall, it was a nice to hear something that, while not necessarily 'original', still got my full attention and didn't let go. Some people may not enjoy it as much as me, but I must urge anyone to click on the link at the top of the page and check the band out.

-Idris Hussain - The Silent Ballet

Northvia, an instrumental four-piece from Florida, offers five new songs on the band’s second self-released effort, and it’s exciting to see how far this band has come. The sound is impressive, startlingly well produced, and extremely well performed. The songs are long and intricate, mixing post-rock with bits of space-rock and maybe even prog-rock.

“Nobody Wants to Pick Up an Angry Robot” starts the album, and I love that song title. The song flows from a kind of post-rock affair into this wonderfully chimey and dreamy space-rock vibe without missing a beat, and it’s in that first drift in tone that I’m sold on the album as a whole. There’s a nice mellow vibe on “Subrosa,” with some great synth lines adding to that lush spacey feel. I like that most of these songs aren’t too long, never overplaying their welcome, such as “Subrosa” and the rhythm-led “Grasping Shadows” that follows. There’s a great post-rock flow to this one, mid-tempo and building and ebbing.

Then there’s two longer tracks that don’t feel long. “Wrong Turn, Right Direction” feels more progressive, starting at a slow and very moody pace and riding some sparkling guitar lines over a lower bass. It builds, though, taking off on a more rocking direction, still with those shimmering guitars, and over four minutes it’s really rocking. The flow on “How Meaningless – The Notes We Write, the Songs We Play” is much softer to start, more melodic and drifting, but this one also picks up even quicker, the percussion coming in blazingly fast and the guitars retaining that driving yet lush, shimmering quality.

There’s not much info on this band from its website, but the music here speaks for itself. There’s a lot of bands playing instrumental rock, and it’s hard to stand out from that crowd, but Northvia absolutely does. With inventive song structures, an intriguing mix of styles, and stellar instrumentation, this band is extremely impressive.

-Jeff Marsh
06/14/05 - Delusions of Adequacy

During the first 1/3 or so of their self-titled EP, North Via manages to separate themselves from many of the post-rock/instrumental bands that would normally be considered their peers. Rather than focus solely on seeing how many effects and ear-rending squalls of sound they can pile on top of eachother before the inevitable apocalyptic climax, North Via focuses first and foremost on writing songs. Songs where you could actually—surprise, surprise—imagine a vocalist chiming in with real lyrics (and none of that Hopelandic gibberish). In North Via’s case, that vocalist would most likely be Thom Yorke.

“Rebirth, Part 1” starts off slowly, with vibrating tones and drumming that takes its time gaining speed and structure. By the time the song hits its stride, it’s morphed into something vaguely reminiscent of an “OK Computer” studio jam, with silvery guitar tones underscored by choppier playing like something cribbed from Jonny Greenwood’s notes. When the song reaches the climax, with a searing guitar erupting into the foreground before cresting high overhead, you almost expect to hear Yorke’s anguished wail.

“Rebirth, Part 2” picks up where “Part 1” left off, this time underscored by a brooding synth and more propulsive drumming. This time, however, the guitars take on a more Middle-Eastern air, and end in tightly-wound neck and neck and finish.

After these two, the disc becomes a bit more predictable and inline with what you’d expect from North Via’s post-rock/instrumental peers and influences. The guitars (which come in both “shimmering” and “delicately-picked” varieties) and the strong drumming of “Maya” race along at a nice clip, but you know exactly where they’re heading. Sure enough, it’s not long before the song explodes with guitars a-blaze and triumphant—only to find that other instrumental bands have conquered the exact same territory many times over. The build-up is too short and obvious, and the climax too underwhelming for the song to retain much of an impact past the initial listen (even though the process is repeated a second time just to be safe).

“Avidya” and “Ananda” continue to move further away from the more rock-oriented feel of the opening tracks, containing the same sort of textured, atmospheric music one would expect to hear from a Tristeza disc. It’s all pleasant-sounding and competent enough, but even when the band kicks out the jams and tears through “Ananda“‘s closing seconds, the EP ends with just a remainder of the rawness and urgency that fuelled its earlier moments. - Opus Zine

Northvia
S/T EP
Auralgasms
Instrumental music is not the easiest to listen to, unless you're enjoying something soft and ambient while reading a book or drifting off to sleep. An instrumental band needs to make its music interesting enough and involved enough to make up for the lack of vocals to draw the listener in. This means the traditional style of rock where a few hooks supplement the vocals won't work. The instruments themselves have to carry the message.

The four members of Northvia are fortunately talented enough to carry this off. On five relatively short songs, the band manages to create a cohesive and flowing work that is meant to be listened to in one sitting, and fortunately its length supports that goal. Highly technical guitarwork is mixed nicely in layers with intricate percussion and some nice synths flowing throughout.

Things start with "Rebirth, Part 1," which builds on layered guitars and intricate percussions by the song's conclusion before drifting off in a soft wash of sound to flow nicely into "Rebirth, Part 2." The latter takes off a bit on a more cerebral journey, a bit more laid-back yet focused on some spectacular rhythm. “Maya (Misperception)” comes in more dreamy, more ethereal. But the song picks up on stellar guitar by its mid-point and leads seamlessly into “Avidya (Ignorance),” which flows nicely over its seven-plus minutes. Finally, “Ananda (Bliss)” closes things off a bit more lush, with synths mixing with fantastic guitar and bass.

Somehow, this whole thing comes across feeling very progressive. Beyond even the song titles, which seem to hint toward a theme here, the music has elements of classic rock and psychedelica that are unique. Fortunately, things change often enough and well enough to keep ideas flowing and shifting, and while I couldn’t place Northvia in any one genre, I do like what I hear.
- Delusions of Adequacy