Carlisle based electronica three-piece NOVABLOOD present their eagerly awaited album ‘Destroy The Magic’ (available on vinyl, download, and streaming), released on Old World – New World on 4th October.
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Following two acclaimed singles (‘Biblical’ and ‘Bring Your Love’), NOVABLOOD deliver their powerful, well-crafted album Destroy The Magic which cleverly fuses elements of indie, electro, post-punk, and new wave. Put Destroy The Magic next to Depeche Mode, Japan, and Talk Talk in your record collection.
Moving from a rigid two piece into a more fluid trio, NOVABLOOD songwriter-in-chief Mark Zowie takes over as lead vocalist for this album and results are stunning, the Carlisle supremo reprising singing duties in the same soulful way he did with Burn The Negative and We Take Polaroids. Any fan of David Sylvian will instantly get Zowie’s refined vocal delivery.
This summer has seen NOVABLOOD win many new fans across the world, thanks to support including on BBC Radio, Apple Music, Electronic Groove, Decoded, Ibiza Sonica, plus stand-out performances at revered, iconic stages Ibiza’s Pikes and The Golden Lion, Todmorden.
To accompany the Destroy The Magic album, NOVABLOOD have dropped a striking video for Move Through You which documents the band through September from their home in Carlisle to the streets of Manchester, Newcastle, Todmorden, and Ibiza’s stunning countryside.
First up is the single Biblical, which grabs your attention from the first second, delay synths of Old Testament proportions rising and engulfing you. This is what a synth hook would sound like if Martin Gore joined Underworld, the space between the notes allowing Biblical to breathe and bubble. Then comes the throbbing bass kick. By now, NOVABLOOD have you hooked.
As you listen through the album, it’s clear this is a sumptuous slice of well-crafted and stunningly produced electronica from Carlisle’s finest. Second track Falling shows Mark Zowie wearing his love of David Sylvian like a rosette, Zowie the only vocalist around today that can hold a candle to the Japan frontman. We Are Golden shows the diversity of Zowie’s tastes and a nod to previous project Lil’ Devious, whereas Move Through You is an Electro-skiffle masterpiece second only to Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus. Second single Bring Your Love is a seductive invitation to a lover in the second person.
The complexity of intertwining melodies in Damage stands up to the best arrangements by Mark Hollis and Vince Clark. I Can Let You Go sounds classic yet contemporary, which brings us onto Love. Originally not on the album, NOVABLOOD dropped this into their set at Pikes in Ibiza at the start of September, where a poolside full of some of the best DJs in the world stopped. And listened. And Shazam’ed. A special moment for an incredible song. All great albums have a climactic finale, provided here by Needful Things, which takes the essence of Destroy The Magic, broods and reflects and finishes perfectly. If you have this album on vinyl, you’ll already be turning back to side one and dropping your needle back onto Biblical.
This is a standout album, Mark Zowie’s seminal one so far. Once you buy it, you will be checking where they are playing near you. Whether a DJ or live set, NOVABLOOD are unmissable as 2024 draws to a close.
