Nina Keith and Rachika Nayar are Disiniblud

I was surprised to discover that Rachika Nayar does not have a thread of her own, as I had the impression that her last album Heaven Come Crashing found great favour on ILM.

I liked it rather than loved it: the typical critical enthusing of “it’s post-rock with synths” seemed like one of those on-the-nose descriptions that encapsulated what I enjoyed as well as what held me back, that sort of climax-via-crescendo manoeuvre the emotional grandeur of which could feel a bit unearned at times (I’m reminded of how Tom E used to indirectly convey his contempt for GYBE by negatively describing other artists as “the GYBE of <insert genre>”). Or maybe it’s just that I only have room for one Mogwai in my life.

Nina Keith I have also liked-not-loved on occasion, though for almost diametrically-opposed reasons: her intricate multi-instrument chamber-pop is beguiling, but I never really fell for it properly, maybe (I reason retrospectively) because it seemed too becalmed, too soundtracky, too composed in both senses of the word.

Musical math is rarely so neat, but wouldn’t you know that these two artists’ jigsaw-like complementary strengths and weaknesses actually do seem to resolve into a greater-than-the-sum-of-their-best-parts secret-third-thing as Disiniblud.

The album’s not out until month, but the three songs already released are these enormous magic eyes of detail and emotion, gleaming, simmering and bubbling over with detail like a pointillist folk-gamelan soup, hyper-compressed and three-dimensional and rangy and surprising and always inexorably building towards something (though thankfully not towards overwrought emotion) - I want to say their sound can be like Animal Collective’s’ “Banshee Beat” with production assistance from Oval, though that might put people off, so just ignore me if that helps.

Here’s “Give-upping” (with Julianna Barwick on cut-up/multi-tracked vocals):

https://youth.be/FOMIuk_RVbA?si=ZCht3SSkkwifnPRx

and “It’s Change”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_1q0pnLkA4

First link didn’t work, trying again:

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

Surprised to learn Nayar didn't have a thread myself! Yes she's really great, seen her live twice now and both times remarkable performances, and a lot of good work out there.

The album is fantastic. “Serpentine” is incredible - like Mogwai’s “2 Rights Make 1 Wrong” with vocals.

It’s a very emotional album, but (consistent with my opening post) I feel like it works harder to earn the high-drama pay-offs than Heaven Come Crashing; invests them with more of a sense of lived experience, complexity and contradiction. The songs are filled with twists and turns that mimic turning a corner on a mountain highway to be confronted with a stunning vista - the sudden emotion really ambushes.

I've only had the time to listen once but it sounded beautiful to me, and I especially agree with your last sentence there! (possibly because I just got back from Cape Breton)

"Serpentine" stood out to me too just now, but boy is "It's Change" surprisingly fun for the first little bit and then languidly gorgeous while also piercing like much of this album

If I was going to do one of those EOY list of musical moments, those first 2 mins of "It's Change" would be my #1. Somehow it achieves thrillingly gentle; I'd love to hear more in that mode

really liked this album when i listened on a flight the other day. i let it wash over me, but "it's change" was def a highlight

the only Rachika Nayar I've heard is her and Julianna Barwick's cover of "Song to the Siren" from last year's excellent Transa comp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb4nYwRnP3Y