It’s melancholic and minimalistic, confessional and quiet, and mesmerizing from start to finish. Nils Bloch’s nine-track From My Armor is somewhat akin to listening in on the mental machinations that a patient might share with a therapist, albeit a patient who possesses a knack for composition and a stirring singing voice. Bloch, who studied art history at the University of Copenhagen and wrote about art for various publications for a time, applies the lessons he learned to his music.
The layered songs feature vocals, guitar, piano and synths, though not all at once, with the intervals between notes equivalent to another instrument. The uncluttered approach bends the ear toward Bloch’s vocals and lyrics, which explore his flaws and failings side by side with more existential concerns. At times, he sounds like a soloist in a church choir; elsewhere he comes across as a parishioner confessing his sins to a caring cleric. Either/or, it’s hypnotic. Each note is the equivalent of a brushstroke, with the result sounding a bit like Carl Wilson singing any of Van Morrison’s more soul-searching numbers. (To borrow a line from Van’s “Summertime in England,” “Can you feel the silence?”) The songs resonate deep within.
The Dutch-born Bloch, it should be mentioned, wrote and recorded the album by himself while living in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. It’s an understated work well worth one’s time and can be streamed, starting July 26, from the usual sites.
The tracks:
The Old Grey Cat 