The Nation Blue’s sheer lack of optimism is as compelling as it is disturbing. Not a band to do things half-arsed, their first new material in nearly seven years sees them return with two albums at the same time: Black & Blue. It’s a lot to take in, hitting you like a sucker punch to the brain. But here lies the beauty of this band.
Both albums explore similar themes, though have subtle differences. Black is the more political album, Blue being its more introspective brother.
As alwaysTom Lyngcoln gets deep into his own dark psyche when addressing tender topics like class (Blue Blood), politics (Australian Of The Year) and deep mistrust (Paranoia). Lyrical content is deeply haunting, especially when addressing the band itself on Negative Space, “No trend in old age, all alone in negative space, I smell the rot from the stage half my life in negative space.”
All the themes are explored in equal measure with the same bleak outlook that they’ve been peddling since their inception 20 years ago. But that’s no criticism of the band; their cynicism is refreshingly honest which has become such a rare commodity these days.
By Alex Pink
