Review Summary: without sin
Deeming something a ‘stepping stone’ feels inherently dismissive, and yet, I quite like little stones. They might not be able to carry an entire dam or cause major splashes, but they can still look pretty and be thrown quite a bit further than their heavyweight counterparts.
Katabasis feels like such a likeable stepping stone: it glimmers with potential and slots comfortably into the genres of slowcore, shoegaze and post rock while simultaneously evoking a sense that Nightosphere have a much better record in them. The band’s debut album is a collection of songs filled with delightful moments - look no further than how ‘Dead Man’s Curve’s verses swell with ominous elegance or how ‘Pining’ manages to summon a finale that is equal parts devastating and uplifting. As excellent as these moments are, they are not presented in a persistently cohesive manner as transitions within songs and buildups can feel a tad awkward. As such,
Katabasis is a record that captures snapshots of explicit beauty, but fails to convincingly connect them. Thankfully, the more vigorous ‘Faim Dévorante’ hints at a bright future for the band: the song uses its gothic-tinged vocals as a focal point and subsequently establishes a wonderfully dynamic framework. If Nightosphere manage to expand on this style of songwriting while keeping their excellent tones and textures they are bound for excellence on future projects. As it stands, this is a highly enjoyable stone that may not be able to diverge a stream on its own, but is nonetheless integral to a structure.
