Album Review: Nada UV – Metronome

The mystery group that is Nada UV might not be able to remain anonymous for much longer, given the addictive summery nostalgia of Metronome.

They talk about being led by “two phone-sex operators from an unmade David Lynch film,” and as seemingly unlikely as that sounds, (anything is possible in the world of David Lynch), it does give you an idea of the sharp wit and outsider eye for music that goes towards making Metronome an eclectic and, at times, eccentric album.

The title of the album opener, The Fact That You Don’t Get It Doesn’t Mean I’m Not Kidding, is the first indication that Nada UV are playing with pop, as this trip-hop takedown is like having your heart gently skewered by a smiling assassin. If this song is about you, boy, are you in trouble, but judging by the lyrics, you might not even realise!

They’re not averse to pushing the pop envelope towards its outer reaches as well as back in time: Early for Elsewhere evokes the spirits of both Enigma and Soul II Soul as it incorporates funky beats and ethereal synths in the sound established in the opener.

Now a studio project, they reclaim their own past as a covers band by picking some unusual tracks to cover, adapting them to the Nada UV universe. The gothic post-rock bleakness of The Auteur’s Everything You Say Will Destroy You is turned into a dub-heavy hymn, as if Saint Etienne or Club 8 were on a Jamaican holiday. Lotion’s Blind for Now will be familiar to Buffy fans, but the downtempo electropop take here is like a totally different song. I’d love to know where they performed songs as leftfield as this!

That’s not to ignore Nada UV’s own tracks and their sharp titles. Whispers in the Afterglow is as romantic as the song turns out to be. Affirmation Station (Breathing Is Just Another Bad Habit) dips into 80s and 90s pop-soul, glossy and poised…but oh, those lyrics!

This isn’t an album for purists, as the duo take a magpie-like approach to writing and recording their own songs. All Hail the Great Cosmic Metronome (The Clockwork Circus Laughs on Cue) could easily be an Amanda Palmer or Emilie Autumn song, but becomes a classy synthpop sad banger here, still keeping within the wider tonal themes of the album.

To add to the bands I’ve already mentioned, I must give a nod to Purity Ring, CHVRCHES, and Tele Novella – a diverse collection for sure, but all possess a similar ear for pop-friendly tracks that go against the grain and create their own musical world. As do Nada UV on an album that is both nostalgic and inventive, and rather subversive in its own deliberate way.

Metronome came out on the 3rd of July and can be heard on all the big music streaming platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify. Head to Instagram, and maybe, just maybe, you can pick up some hints as to who is behind the album’s delicious grooves.