An intense, brooding return for Spain’s Northline.
Northline are a 5-piece Spanish outfit fronted by singer and songwriter Enric Máñez. They are not the most prolific of bands; following a handful of EPs in 2020/21, this new release “All Things Done” is only their second full-length album since the band’s 2018 debut “Not That Easy”, but it has been well worth the wait.
Máñez’s warm, world-weary vocals lay bare the struggles to cope with mental health and failing relationships. The nine tracks are unconventional in structure, the stark lyrics rarely rhyme and Máñez prefers refrains over wordy choruses to drive home the themes. All are delivered over nuanced, sympathetic musical arrangements of guitar and drums with a touch of lap steel or mandolin for colour.
The opener ‘Against Time’ is a poignant reflection on time passing and sets the introspective tone of the collection. As the album develops, the band tackle mental health struggles in ‘Dark Days’, regret and missed opportunities in ‘Funeral’ and the doom-ridden ‘Curse’ gives death in nightmares Máñez’s unique treatment. At the album’s core is a set of tracks that trace the slow, crumbling of a relationship. ‘Hold On’ invites the listener into the narrator’s internal monologue, starting with the desperate but ultimately futile attempts to keep things together against the odds. ‘Scream’ is the hiatus before the decline into the inevitable and ‘No Tracks’ develops the inertia of ‘Scream’ into the silent, gradual separation of two people – Pablo Gisbert’s hauntingly atmospheric lap-steel solo leads the track out perfectly. “What’s the point with us” intones Máñez, harmonising nicely with backing vocalist Silvia Marti, to open ‘Lessons’ the upbeat rhythm of which lifts the tone of the album nicely but belies the song’s heartbreaking undercurrent. ‘For Now’ closes the album with a cold realisation that “I have ended my time here”’ although the mantra-like “for now” refrain does give a dim sense of hope that things may change for the better, at some point.
This is by no means a happy album, no dance floor fillers or stadium rockers, just introspective, vulnerable americana at its best. ‘All Things Done’ is a set of beautifully arranged songs that address big issues with respect and pathos that takes the listener on an intense sonic journey.
