Album Review: Novella Leads A “Change Of State”
Novella’s sophomore album Change Of State makes me want to put blush, do my hair into a bee-hive, grab a be-dazzled leather coat, and run back to 1950’s/60’s pop. Yes, I know that is a specific, imaginative sentiment to stir, but the record is not called Change Of State for nothing. After forty minutes and 10 songs you will walk away from this album in a better, more confident mood.
Sonically, Change of State feels like synthetic sensuality. This makes sense as 1950’s pop was birthed from the notion of rebellious teens and youth in revolt. It is seems strange that, historically, “teen-hood” or teenage years was an idea born after WWI. Unbeknownst to the globe, WWI seemed like the worst fight the earth would ever see. Yet, like in any war and revolution, philosophies are born, artists are created, and humanity seeks to define itself more clearly. I bring up history because I am a nerd, but also because Change Of State is an intimate and introspective look into how youth is formed. While many define like according to children and adults, there is a weird “young adult” period we all try to gracefully drive-by in which our childhood hopefulness clashes with our adulthood harshness. Novella does well to create arrangements that grasp the explorative nature of being young: from sexually to spiritually. Yet, this is not a “tasteless” album. On the contrary, it is created in sophistication. Lyrically, Novella try to approach the discrepancies of self-disocvoery in a quiet, subtle fashion. It is as if you do not know the wisdom being streamed into your mind because it is pixelated between electro rock/surf pop instrumentals.
Change Of State’s avant-garde rhythms crash over listeners like waves of electricity. There is something both natural and unnatural about this album that lies in its emotions. Novella have attempted to capture the perennial/ instinctual experience of being human, and Hollie Warren and Sophy Hollington’s harmonies appear like the phantasmic harmonies of Youth, itself. Warren’s voice is so cool-headed that you wonder how someone can be so thoughtfully reflective and still sound stabilizing. Usually, we presume the deeper someone goes into their mind and heart, the harder it would be for them to convey their voice. Yet, Warren’s vocals are clear, crisp drops of rain into the ocean of Novella’s words and chords. She embodies the mindful distance one needs to take to get soulfully closer to their “inner self”. By fragments their beats as if they are being cut by the social, political, and mental encounters they describe in their songs/scenarios, Novella have made an indie album that show a Change Of State is cyclically intertwined between a person’s spirit and a person’s society. For More Information On Novella And To Buy Change Of State On February 17 Click Here.
