der Mist brings a burst of flavors, sparking with intention in his latest album, Northern Lights, that came out just this 3rd April. What you will get here is what they built on their self-titled debut from back in 2021, in a more mature, more nuanced concoction of indie electronic, synth-pop, and alternative rock.
The Glasgow outfit, led by Craig McKissick and Ali Whitty, brings a vein of tension and introspection within the warm synth, completely produced from scratch at their home studio. If there is more relishing than creating something completely on your own, that is to support something that was made independently. So if you love Daft Punk, Prince, or Depeche Mode, Northern Lights might be just up your alley.
โSea Changeโ opens the record with stereo panned vocals that really expand the dimension early on. The layers fall on each other, with the hard-hitting drums bustling and the cymbals splashing, while guitars chime and melodically bend, and the singer sings with much zeal and passion. He sings about going around town through the nights looking for a โhoney sweet melody from a big guitar,โ craving something as invigorating as the freshness of the seas.
What follows is โLost Souls,โ one of the key tracks, which is super energizing, expansive, and atmospheric, where our singer sings drunkenly, asking particularly, โWhere do we go from here?โ only to nihilistically respond, โNowhere.โ You can feel the tension and the depression setting in before pushing himself out of this void, when he sings of packing his bags and taking a train to nowhere, admittedly moving past the purposelessness in the hopes of finding something along the way. Such is the human spirit, resilient through the muddy waters.
In the title track, we will find Northern Lights become scintillatingly shimmering as if electrified, only the vocals are modified to sound robotic, so you are not sure how positive and anthemic the experience is. Regardless, you will want to dance to this under the neon lights.
With more energizing and interesting tracks packed in this album, a lot of intrigue lies here to be explored. Check out der Mistโs Northern Lights on Spotify.
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Review by: Naomi Joan