Band:	Nebulae Come Sweet
Album:	De Lumi​è​re
Style:	Post-metal
Release date:	April 20, 2023
A review by:	musclassia

01. Lumen
02. Candor
03. Splendor
04. Claritas
05. Fulgor
06. Lux
07. Epilogue En Si Mineur

It’s been close to seven sweet years since the debut release from Belarussian post-metallers Nebulae Come Sweet. In that time, members have come and gone (a situation exacerbated by fallout from the war), but there’s only been a solitary collaborative single up until now; with De Lumière, the group reintroduce themselves in style.

This sophomore release forms the second part of a duology (or dilogy, as it’s described on their Bandcamp - a new word for my vocabulary), continuing the themes from 2016’s It Is Not The Night That Covers You. The current incarnation of Nebulae Come Sweet are credited as a four-piece line-up on the record’s Bandcamp page; however, a vast array of guests (including Vorvaň’s Ivor Butz on bass, who also contributed to the album’s production) and instruments are also listed. The range of different instruments involved in the making of De Lumière may give an idea of how Nebulae Come Sweet manage to distinguish themselves from the post-metal crowd.

Of the four main members, Anastasiya Vashkevich draws attention for her role as cellist, as well as being generally credited with ‘strings’. Stringed orchestral instruments aren’t a complete novelty in post-rock and post-metal; Pijn feature both a violinist and cellist, while Sleepmakeswaves once used violin to immense effect on the majestic “One Day You Will Teach Me To Let Go Of My Fears”. However, that song, and Pijn’s music in general, still quite reliably conform to post-rock conventions. De Lumière, on the other hand, is a record that very much has a voice of its own, and that is down to its compositions, not just its instrumental roster.

In terms of musical acts that may come to mind while listening, there are definitely times when listening to this album that Ode And Elegy’s self-titled record from last year, and by extension The Pax Cecilia, popped into my head; to a lesser extent, hints of Fucked Up’s artsy post-hardcore appear in glimpses, particularly on “Candor” when the trumpets are used. A less expected, but arguably more reminiscent to me, similarity I heard is with the title track on Enslaved’s “Ruun”; later on in the aforementioned “Candor”, there’s a sinister gloom to the clean vocals that darkly contrasts to the tense instrumentation beneath. It’s a very effective use of clean vocals on an album that regularly exploits the intensity of harsher approaches.

Moving away from the vocals and to the instruments, this is a post-metal album in that it makes strong use of dynamic contrasts and tension-building, but it doesn’t rely on standard riff approaches associated with generic bands within the style. Opener “Lumen”, which is dominated by some killer violin motifs, feels closer to prog with some of its rhythmic curiosities, and also broods upon some mean-sounding chugging riffs at multiple points. At the same time, it also contains some potently dark atmospheric segments, during which the cello weaves some simple yet effective melodies into a ominous musical base. Nebulae Come Sweet have a great ear for melody across instruments, and know how to use it within the context of songs both hectic and subdued.

De Lumière is a great album, and some of that greatness comes from its versatility and unpredictability; they’re just as willing to dedicate a whole song to delicate tones, with piano, acoustic guitars and shimmering post-rock tremolos on “Splendor”, as they are to incorporate a quirky, upbeat clean guitar solo that comes out of nowhere into the same song. They’re also just as happy to immediately segue into a dark brooding metal monster such as “Claritas”, arguably the most conventionally post-metal song on the album. The only possible downside the record has is that it perhaps peaks too soon; “Lumen” is a truly fantastic opener, but I’m not sure another song quite matches up to it. The one possible contender is “Lux”, a densely gloomy track in which passionate clean singing and moving strings really augment the tense atmosphere. Parts of this track remind me of gloomier songs by Dead To A Dying World, but with an added sludgy aggression. It’s a really powerful climax to the album, following which “Epiloge En Si Mineur” serves as a subdued denouement.

I hope it won’t take another 6-7 years before we hear more from Nebulae Come Sweet; De Lumière is a really distinctive and well-written record that really stands out from other current post-metal releases. Given the breadth of styles featured in this album (I haven’t yet mentioned the tortured dark ambience of “Fulgor”), I can only imagine how much more they’re capable of should they continue to explore.