NICK & JUNE - New Year’s Face

Recorded in Bridgeport (Connecticut), “New Year’s Face” was produced by seasoned studio hand Peter Katis (Sharon Van Etten, National, Interpol), with a host of collaborators contributing to the final sound: Owen Pallett, the Antlers, Kyle Resnick and Ben Lanzm, i.e. the National's horn section, and Thomas Bartlett/Doveman.

The genesis of the record was rather unusual, as it came about after the breakup of the two musicians, Nick Wolf and Suzie-Lou Kraft; yet, despite everything, “New Year’s Face” focuses on broader, more sweeping reflections rather than dwelling on the duo's romantic history.

The creative direction is clear from the very first notes of the title track: hushed vocals and sonic layers dripping with synths and other electronic textures conjure a range of suggestions running from Mazzy Star to Lana Del Rey, while a minimal, elegant songwriting approach gradually reveals a wealth of nuances that keep the listener's attention constantly engaged.

The dream-pop stride of “Dark Dark Bright” and the sumptuous arrangement of “Anthem” keep the duo's ever-present melancholic streak in check, but it's the gorgeous, epic progression of voices, horns and guitars on “Trouble” that stands as the record's finest insight. Doveman and Russian Red take center stage on one of the album's most atypical tracks, “The Boy With The Jealous Eyes”: its dreamy, vaporous atmosphere is brought to life by a handful of guitar chords and a succession of exquisite vocal and instrumental interplay that shatters and rebuilds the melodic fabric. Owen Pallett, meanwhile, makes fine use of orchestral illusion on the closing “Husband & Wife”, an imaginative blend of psychedelia and cosmic folk.

It's no surprise that, on this journey through the canons of beauty and poetry, the duo crosses paths with the Antlers, who lend a hand to the harmonic whisper of “2017” and the intense folk-noir ballad “Pinker Moon” (whose title betrays a noble source of inspiration); and it hardly matters that “New Year’s Face” adds little to what's already been written in the vein of the noirest dream-pop (“You Are The Voice That’s Haunting”) — Nick & June's album is the product of an artistic vision that deserves attention and discernment.