NMM – Thud by Vilde

Thud is the latest album by Vilde.

Instantly listening, the vocals and beats shine through. The genre they self-describe themselves is folly, just telling us how seriously we should take their music. However, whether music is serious or not has no bearing on the effect you feel. I have never been one to pay attention to lyrics as I often get distracted by the overall tune and Thud doesn’t fail to mesmerise me.

The best way to describe their music I find is to say they sound like Alt J if Alt J existed in a Bladerunneresque world but even that is a poor representation of their music. Each song is full of atmosphere, the heavy bass mixed with the reverb floods every song that is very reminiscent of what the 80’s vision for our future was.  High pitched vocals cut through the low humming beats yet they never draw attention to themselves, instead, they serve as just another instrument alongside others. Backing vocals sound almost angelic, providing a sense of spiritualism to each song. I have always been a sucker for choir-like singing if only for the atmosphere they provide. Even though songs can become familiar with each other, it means they don’t work well with each song being isolated but it means they flow incredibly well together as an album. No song feels overcrowded, it all comes together at the right times and right amounts so that you are overwhelmed with emotion. I can’t pinpoint what emotion I had felt listening, but every song provided its own air of loneliness and helplessness.