Nomadic  – Linqo (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Rock is all about the big, the dramatic, the widescreen and sky scraping, at least the music that leaves a lasting impression is anyway. But that doesn’t mean that it is just about turning the volume up and delivering testosterone fuelled bombastic broadsides. Thankfully those days have (largely) long gone. Linqo understands better than most that you can make an impression through clever construction, musical textures, cinematic arrangements and well thought out dynamics. And Nomadic is a five track slice of exactly that.

Opening salvo, I Want To Be Your Lover, tells me everything I need to know about where this e.p. is likely to take me. Anyone who within 30 seconds reminds me that I haven’t played my Mercury Rev albums for a while is always going to sit high in my estimation. The Hourglass takes a more brooding approach, somehow sounding at once the most commercial track yet the most intimate, a personal plea that also happens to be a relatable anthem and Red Handed provides a soaring and cinematic full stop to this impressive suit of songs.

It is a big album yet elegant, powerful yet eloquent, creating its impact less through a packed punch but more through a feeling of being cocooned in rich tapestries of sound yet somehow it also evokes the feeling of being stood on the top of a mountain gazing that the night time stars. Classic rock? Who needs it? Cosmic alt-rock is the way forward.