Lustre – Wonder
Damn you, Nachtzeit.
Specifically, damn you for forcing me to re-evalute my jaded expectations. For when I saw the promo from Nordvis I thought, surely now, with your fourth full-length release in as many years, the frequency alone of your production would diminish the quality or, at least, the impact of your music, evocative of a living world outside the steel and glass traps of our cars and workplaces, a world where roads end and underbrush begins. But no lapse in quality or impact has occurred; somehow, the heights have grown higher, and I am pleasantly puzzled. Your Lustre project’s ever-present, simple melody lines, repeated with a lulling effect upon the listener, return now in 2013 astride new, continuous harmonic counterpoints as their vehicle, adding more depth to the music’s large-scale atmosphere than ever before. An exploration of higher frequencies via synthesized harpsichord and acoustic guitar sounds makes an appearance on each of the album’s four 9-minute tracks, giving guiding, sonic starlight amidst the aural black. Wonder‘s wider expanse could also be attributed in part to its carefully orchestrated production but, what matters on Wonder is mood – not technique – and, as with all Lustre recordings, of mood there is much to be had. ‘Moonlit Meadow’ captures that brief sense of awe one feels when stepping from a darkened forest onto a plain of lonely field, where wind twists the tops of the grasses in shimmering waves, and the sight of it slows the heart. ‘Green Worlds’ embroiders a teeming, vibrant cosmos with triumphant open guitars and an almost medieval sensibility of structure; in it, I felt as though I were peering over the shoulder of a creator-sorceror, ruminating on all the beauty that has been wrought. ‘A Summer Night’ proves that Lustre’s emotional spectrum stretches far wider than I’d previously understood, with a faster tempo and empowering, ominous keys and chords that command every shoegazer to look up now, and take stock of the dark warmth that surrounds us all, valuing its presence. ‘Petrichor’ translates as ‘the scent of rain on dry earth’, and as this final track heralds the return of reality back to the listener, it’s title resonates appropriately, as I feel music of this caliber reinvigorates, soothing the parched throat of pagans mired in modernity, preparing them, once more, for those unavoidable traps of glass and steel. – Jim
Nordvis Produktion
Worm Gear 
This is excellent. This song conjures up so many moods and images while listen to it. I hate to use this comparison, but the repetitive nature of the main melody reminds me of the electronic tracks on the early Burzum albums. The song is hypnotic and sticks with me long after listening to it. Unfortunately I see it doesn’t come out until September. I may need to look into something from their back catalogue to tide me over.
Shawn, I think it’s perfectly fair to mention the Burzum influence; I fully agree that it exists in Lustre’s music. Luckily, Nachtzeit takes those tropes and stretches them further with even stronger doses of the forest and sky. I’d recommend the Welcome Winter EP and last year’s They Awoke to the Scent of Spring, though honestly, I enjoy the debut Night Spirit and 2010’s A Glimpse of Glory very, very much as well. Side note: As I sometimes have to make long driving trips for my day job, I feel compelled to mention that Lustre’s albums make for unequaled driving music!
Shameless self promotion, review of last year’s Lustre release here: https://wormgearzine.com/2012/09/30/lustre-they-awoke-the-scent-of-spring/
That track is absolutely beautiful! It sucks me in completely.
Thanks for the additional info Jim. This is also why I like having the song samples with the review. I am not 100% sure I would have rushed to check out Lustre right away based simply on the description of the music, even though it was very positive.