Montreal's Alex Nicol delivers on his smooth debut LP, All For Nada
Review by Austin Sher
Montreal’s own, Alex Nicol, has just released his debut album, titled All For Nada, released exclusively through Michel Records + Anniversary. Join us as we dive into the complexities and nuances that Nicol creates on this fantastic new record.
The album opener, “Two Times A Charm” instantly hooked us into the world of Alex Nicol, in which it was all smooth sailing during the full 28 minute runtime of this album. Right off the bat, the record puts us at ease. After a long and stressful week, diving into All For Nada is just the type of record that we needed. It’s definitely not overbearing, in the sense that it takes over what we’re thinking. It’s unique enough to zone out from life’s problems and get into the mind of Nicol, to really feel what he was going through when recording the album.
The smooth opener sets the tone for the rest of the seven tracks to follow, and i’ll be honest, I paused after the first song to pour myself a small glass of whisky to sip on. It felt appropriate given the themes and vibe that the record created for me. It was time to kick back and listen. The album is primed for a vinyl release, it would sound so smooth on a record player. Streaming it is also a fantastic option though!
The rest of the album provides a soothing and calming feeling. Each track provides enough complexities within the instrumentation that it doesn’t get stale even for a minute. I also really appreciated the shorter run time. At a couple minutes under 30, it doesn’t overstay its welcome and is a perfect candidate for replaying often. It’s 30 minutes of peace and relaxation and I truly enjoyed what I heard. It’s always a little difficult to review albums like this, because so often, they’re better experienced by actually listening, instead of letting me convince you to listen.
Speaking of, did I convince you to listen? If at this point you haven’t stopped reading and started listening, you should really be doing that! In the meantime, we really do love the record and look forward to all future releases coming from Alex Nicol.
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