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Der Noir
Numeri e Figure
Roman trio Der
Noir’s second full-length album follows the path marked by their
first one. Sung in English and Italian, it displays gems of Cold Wave
/ Synth-Pop or “Cold Pop Noir” and some utterly surprising
tracks. The first bite
is delicious: “Carry On” is very electro, a genuine dance-floor
filler with a catchy synth hook and an even catchier chorus backed by
post-punk electric guitars. With title track “Numeri e Figure”,
the band takes you to poppier grounds. The vocals in Italian add
romanticism. “Zero” is very atmospheric yet catchy, and this is
Der Noir’s trademark, together with the cold vocals. This time they
are in English, enhanced by the Italian accent of the singer, which
gives a unique and surprisingly cool taste. “L’Inganno”’s
dark synths waves and irresistible bass make it one of the highs of
this album. The beat is hypnotic, the vocals in Italian sound elegant
and melodious. The trumpet blends in totally and gives more mystery
to the song : just beautiful. “Sunrise” is a cool instrumental
track, somewhere between 80’s new wave and electro with a dark feel
to it. “Kali Yuga” shows more darkness : closer to Gothic Rock,
it sounds like a chant to the destruction black goddess. (Is it the
electric violin? Anyways, it sounds great.) “She’s the arcane”
has a lot to offer too: siren-like noise in the back settles the
mood, the chorus is perfect one more time and the sound is more Post
Punk, which works great for me. “The Forms” is like an UFO in the
dark scene, it is probably one of the most original tracks I have
heard in a long time: atmospheric, it could be a soundtrack to a 70’s
Italian erotic movie, with its sensual bassline and saxophone. A very
interesting track, closer to jazz/funk than rock because of the sax
and the subtle drums, and a great way to end the album.
I’m not used
to hear dark music in Italian, and I have to say, that if sometimes
it works perfectly (“L’Inganno”), sometimes it sounds too sweet
to me, especially in poppier songs, like “Numeri e Figure” or
“Metamorfosi”. It is not as sharp as English, and create a
“romantic” feel that can sometimes warm up too much Der Noir’s
“Cold Pop”. The vocals, when sung in English, are unique thanks
to the Italian accent. It really give a little something more to Der
Noir’s songs. “Numeri e Figure” is an original album with
several tones, from pastel to black. All in all it’s reasonably
dark, enough to please the darker fans, but not too much so it can
appeal to a more mainstream audience. In the end it’s very
interesting and definitely worth the listen. Some tracks are really
superb (L’inganno, Kali Yuga, The forms), and I hope the band will
chose to focus more on the darkest side of their music.
Guillaume Renard
