Nova Cascade – “Any Minute Now” / “The Noble Lion”

Nova Cascade – “Any Minute Now” / “The Noble Lion” – Singles Review

Some of you out there might remember that nearly a year ago, we announced the making of a new album from Nova Cascade called The Navigator, right here on these very pages of ours.  As is the story with any new record generally speaking, the road to get there is never easy – but in this case, more specifically, the path from point-A to point-B for the UK-based band proved to be tougher than ever.  Shortly after they’d put out the press release for The Navigator, and run a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign to provide the funds they’d need to make it, they sadly lost one of their beloved bandmates, Eric Bouillette, who passed away in August of 2022.  An essential part of their lineup as we can imagine, to say that experiencing a loss like that is a setback would be to put it mildly to say the very least.  Death can all too often be the end-point for even the greatest of the great…but I’d posit the theory that if you can somehow turn tragedy into triumph, that’s the best kind of tributary art you’ll ever be a part of.  As far as I understand it, the upcoming Nova Cascade album is now entirely dedicated to Eric’s memory.  It’s heartbreaking without a doubt, but the gesture is also as beautiful as they come, and knowing what we know about the band’s commitment, honoring Bouillette will become a truly amazing experience.

So far, it sure sounds like Nova Cascade is performing to their highest standards once again based on what I’ve heard in these two singles.  “Any Minute Now” uses spoken-word through its intro before it delicately bursts open into a colorfully atmospheric track in full bloom.  Somewhere between the worlds where the broken sentiment and gorgeously forlorn melodies you’d find on something like The Cure’s Bloodflowers album, and unique indie art experiments like The Quiet Room exist, you’ll find a track like “Any Minute Now” humbly discovering its own space to thrive within.  From the sparkle on the surface, to the stunning depth of the music overall, I think people are certainly going to be impressed with the bold definition and vibrant sound of “Any Minute Now” – and I’d reckon that’s about half of what makes it as impressive as it really is.  Vocally, I think they’ve got a real gem here.  As far as I can tell by the lyrics, it seems like “Any Minute Now” directly deals with mortality and the fragility of time in general – and while I do indeed enjoy the complexity of thought-provoking words like these, it’s the actual sound of the vocals that convincingly sells you on every second you hear.  There’s no doubt that it’s a strongly performance-minded type of song they’ve created, whereby the vocals that you’ll hear aren’t the kind you’d be apt to sing along to, but rather the kind of engaging material that’s genuinely mesmerizing to listen to instead.  Great stuff without a doubt though – I really love hearing this song expand as it passes the first minute mark, and it’s got a wonderfully evocative vibe to it that you’re certain to feel inside ya.  “We’re taken before our time” is a crushing line from “Any Minute Now” that rings all too true when you consider everything that Nova Cascade has been through over this past year.  Rest in paradise Eric.

Of the two tracks, I might even be more partial to “The Noble Lion” – maybe…but I’d happily concede that I’m fully interested in both of these singles that have come my way.  As with everything we know from the band, their expertise not only lies in the extraordinary exploratory use of Progressive sound, but using the advantages of melodic textures and tones to their advantage.  In the case of “The Noble Lion,” they’ve tapped into a wealth of audible majesty of sound that’s subtly epic in my opinion – I’m extremely happy with what I’m hearing from Nova Cascade here.  I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s intended to be the polar opposite kind of vibe that we hear in the spiritually weary “Any Minute Now” just prior in this particular case of two singles, but it actually could be too.  Nova Cascade tends to consider their music and what they do in ways that others don’t, so I wouldn’t put it past them at all to think of something like that in pairing these two songs together pre-release.   “The Noble Lion” seems to be built of completely stoic and reliable sound, almost like it’s been created to confirm that the band is alright after enduring the emotional storm of losing one of their own…and that they’ve found the inner strength required between them to continue and finish the mission they set out on.  Imposing our own narratives and projections during a time like what Nova Cascade has gone through is almost impossible; we’re all bound to hear a salute to Eric within the grooves of this record in different ways, but quite likely on every single track.  “The Noble Lion” is an instrumental song…so really, it’s about whatever it might mean to you as an individual in your own interpretation of it, of course – but in knowing the full story of Nova Cascade’s journey towards The Navigator, you really can’t help but feel Eric’s presence and appreciate the way the band has chosen to celebrate his life in tribute by dedicating this new album to him, rather than shy away in his passing.  The band followed through on what we can all be certain would have been something Bouillette would have definitely wanted them to finish.  We’re all “taken before our time” when it comes right down to it, but our memories survive in the hearts of the living and within the art we create to sincerely cherish the essential contributions they made to us along the way.

Find out more about Nova Cascade from their official page at Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/NovaCascade

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