Melancholy in NMA's last albums

[Guillaume]

From the other thread...

I think from Carnival onward especially, Justin's songwriting has shown - not surprisingly - a greater awareness and acceptance of mortality.  Beyond these carnival lights, there is nothing at all, indeed.  I may be in a minority, but I love Carnival)

None of us are getting any younger, and some of us, sadly, aren't getting any older, and the later NMA albums are full of songs tinged with reflection and maybe some regret.

Very very true.
Don't you think that with each passing new NMA's albums, their music is more and more melancholy??
Songs like "I need more time", "Did you make it safe", "Pull the sun" on the new album are clues of this side of the band, also i think of the JS's solo album and late songs like "High", "Dawn", "Rivers", etc.

What is your opinion about the tone, mood of NMA's last albums?
The more is Justin older, the more the music of NMA is melancholy, i think...it's very logical, in fact...there's a sense of loneliness in the songs, the desolate landscape, the idea of frailty of human life, the mortality...the most striking album in this sense is maybe "Navigating by the stars".

[Fatalist]

Next stage of Justin's songwriting journey to my mind

[c]

There probably are more melancholy songs in later albums but there have always been NMA songs with a melancholy feel; Love Songs, Marrakesh are two that spring to mind, and as I type Ballad, RIP and Curse all have come up. And Modern Times. And One Bullet.  Just my interpretations of course

Justin's songs are often stories told from one or other perspective and it seems to me to be another side to the raging against the unfairness of the world which is apparent in many of NMA's songs; as the rage is sometimes revealed to be impotent or not enough to change the world, or the story teller is revealed to be implicitly caught up in the events, thoughts turn to missed opportunities and what might have beens.

[Simon73]

Tommy died, studio in flame, equipment stolen plus lots of other personal and deep feelings.........sound yes more melancholic but absolutely stunning songs.

[Guillaume]

"Devil's bargain" sure has a feel of melancholy...don't you think?:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoIB2Tti7NU

Seriously i like NMA the most when they are melancholy, moody and introspective intimate, like on this song or "Drummy B", "Marry the sea", "Headlights", "Someone like Jesus", etc.

[Guillaume]

up, because of..:

To me Carnival was a departure from their old sound and spirit, with the anger of the earlier albums giving way to a new sombreness. It felt new and different and I think that many people didn't appreciate that. Admittedly, it did take quite a few listens to get into and I still remember the moment I actually 'got' it. It's a great mood piece just like Between Dog And Wolf and Navigating By The Stars and I love to play those albums from beginning to end. It's probably no coincidence that they are usually the ones that top the 'least favourite' polls.

[Anna Woman von NRW]

Maybe not quite melancholy but I do get that description. Certainly there seems to have been an awareness of passing time and the inevitable fact that less time is left than what's been had alongside the sense of regret and loss (both real and felt) that goes with it.

I would have thought that as Fatalist said it's the next part of a songwriters journey after all it would be a bit weird for a post 60 year old chap to banging on about things in the same way as an angry young man.

 

[Guillaume]

Certainly there seems to have been an awareness of passing time and the inevitable fact that less time is left than what's been had alongside the sense of regret and loss (both real and felt) that goes with it.

Indeed...Justin's definitive song about the passing time is maybe "I need more time"  released now  6 years ago  but the feel of this song for me is more desperate, anxious, than pure melancholy...when i was  20, then 25, then 30, i wasn't thinking about future and the passing time but now that i'm 40 i'm thinking about all of this  ...especially like you wrote "the sense of regret and loss (both real and felt) that goes with it". 

after all it would be a bit weird for a post 60 year old chap to banging on about things in the same way as an angry young man.

I was listening today to the "Vengeance" album...very different music, lyrics and man, indeed!
 
Maybe Johnz is right that "Carnival" was the first NMA album with "somberness" but melancholy has been here and there for a long time now, even in late 80's/90's albums  ("The attack", "Ballad", "Green and grey", "Family life", "Nothing touches", "These words", "Drummy B", "Headlights"...)

There probably are more melancholy songs in later albums but there have always been NMA songs with a melancholy feel; Love Songs, Marrakesh are two that spring to mind, and as I type Ballad, RIP and Curse all have come up. And Modern Times. And One Bullet.

and of course Justin's masterpiece album "Navigating by the stars" so full of melancholy IMO. 

[Bunny]

Like Anna, Im not sure Id use melancholy as a description. Its more a sense of self in a bigger picture. I think we all get it as we get older. I said to Shush a while back, I think Justin is comfortable with his own company and when you are you tend to analyse things in your own thoughts. I think his songwriting is fantastically clever and may be why it resonates with me as well. I could be entirely wrong and we'll never know, but thats what I get from it.

[Johnz]

Yes, the melancholy has always been there in small doses. But to me, things definitely got darker with Carnival and that element has stayed throughout subsequent albums. I'm not complaining btw. Carnival and BDAW are among my all time favourites.

I really enjoy these darker sounds and lyrics because I find it easy to relate to them. But at the same time I have always thought of NMA as that breath of fresh air to blow the blues away. I miss that sometimes in the way that you might miss a friend's smile.

It's not a complaint just an observation. Not sure if that makes sense.

[Master Ray]

It'll be interesting to revisit this thread once we've all had time to digest 'From Here'... after the wonderful 'Never Arriving', which was melancholy in the extreme...

[Guillaume]

It'll be interesting to revisit this thread once we've all had time to digest 'From Here'... after the wonderful 'Never Arriving', which was melancholy in the extreme...

Indeed! Yes, "Never arriving" has already this melancholy (and nostalgic?) feel in the lyrics...i wonder if the "phone call" part is about Rob Heaton..
which will be the overall mood, tone of this album? The darker side seen since "Carnival"? or

that breath of fresh air to blow the blues away

[ManxPat]

A sense of melancholy pervades the majority of the music I most enjoy, NMA included. I think it has always been there in the bands music to a certain extent, but it isn't a sadness, or if it is, it's a sadness mixed with a hope and optimism for the future. I heard Never Arriving for first time today and like a lot of the 21st century output I wasn't too keen on first listen but already it is growing on me. It's an interesting song because JS talks so often about wanting to look to the future and not behind, yet this is a track with a definite eye on history. I think as one gets older, especially after 40, it's inevitable to look behind. After all there is most likely more that has passed then there is to come.

[Guillaume]

It'll be interesting to revisit this thread once we've all had time to digest 'From Here'... after the wonderful 'Never Arriving', which was melancholy in the extreme...

The interviewer and JS are talking about this melancholy feel here around 13 minutes! :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8SM5jvc0N4&ab_channel=Kazagast%C3%A3o

So what will be the overall mood of JS's new solo album? 

[Master Ray]

It'll be interesting to revisit this thread once we've all had time to digest 'From Here'... after the wonderful 'Never Arriving', which was melancholy in the extreme...

The interviewer and JS are talking about this melancholy feel here around 13 minutes! :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8SM5jvc0N4&ab_channel=Kazagast%C3%A3o

So what will be the overall mood of JS's new solo album?

If Justin is feeling anything like the rest of us, a combination of deeply depressed and utterly fooking pissed off!