I first discovered Nadja in 2005, stumbling across their website and immediately being enthralled by their powerful fuzzy ambient metal. Three years on and the Toronto duo of Adrian Baker and Leah Buckareff have provided yet more in the way of heavy ambient metal, this time coming in a snazzy hard card case too!
Mixing (as mentioned) ambience, slow drone metal and fuzz shoegaze feedback, ‘Desire in Uneasiness’ is as accessible to the hardcore fan as it is to the novice of their back catalogue. The opening track ‘Disambiguation’ hypnotic and inviting and while loud never abrasively so, instead allowing the sound to flow smoothly and with subtlety.
‘Expressions’ follows shortly after, engulfing the listener in thirteen minutes of dirge like instrumentation, itself engulfed in heavy distortion and droning feedback while ‘Fields’ continues in a different, more straight forward ambient vein, being much shorter and quieter with its movements than previous tracks.
Having several impressive releases under their belt as well as collaborations with the likes of Atavist and Netherworld, Nadja really are the unsung heroes of a sub genre dominated by O’Malley and his acolytes. A hidden gem of a group and one that shan’t disappoint both old and new fans alike with this most recent release.
