Throughout the last few years, we’ve seen a wave of an ever-growing presence in pop’s attraction and homogenization of club/electronic music. Some have done so with gusto, creating these hybrids that can pack a punch, like Romy’s debut, or flounder like Yaeji’s debut album, With A Hammer, but when it hits a high, they become everlasting. UK DJ/Singer-Songwriter Nia Archives doesn’t acclimate to such, opting to focus on identity via love, paralleling some themes to the production. Her debut is titled Silence Is Loud, Nia Archives delivers something without real pop music tones and mediates within a core function that blends Soul/R&B/Indie-Rock notes with Jungle, giving it a new face that expands beyond the apropos, widening the gap between the exasperated and bombastic tracks of her EPs (comparatively) to a more subdued take on Jungle/Drum-N-Bass affluent production that brings out different complexions in the vocals. Unfortunately, some homogenized percussion with swift pacing makes it a fleeting experience you want to replay to get out all the juice, especially because it isn’t a perfect album; it’s a stellar debut that showcases more than what we’ve been acclimated to, and Archive’s singing is the icing.
Reading Nia Archives’ write-up for Apple Music (avail. on Genius) adds context to the music and its meaning (I love it), and what stuck with me was what she wrote about how the opening title track; it’s about the love she shares for her brother, even if she doesn’t say it. As someone with a sibling, I know some can relate, where sharing that love is less vocal and more showy; thinking about the latter, it speaks to how silence can still hold significant weight, but to her, it’s less of a misnomer, as her meaning has more depth than just this notion that your silence is deafening. The subtle vocals and melancholy tones offer much to the enigmatic percussion that emanates throughout. It makes the album more of a worthwhile listen—despite the pacing, it maneuvers swiftly through all 13 tracks, feeling like each track has its rewarding presence, but there is still that lingering itch that makes you wish it lasted longer. However, that doesn’t discredit the quality of the music, as it continues to reinvent the subtleties that elevate the production further, like the twangy strings on “Cards On The Table” or the indie rock aesthetics of “Crowded Roomz” and “Tell Me What It’s Like.”
Silence Is Loud modestly tries to expand its horizons with the production, even if it takes a small step back by keeping some of its core base breakbeat infusions mildly similar, dropping more onus on Nia Archives to create impact. That homogenization can become tiring for the track “Out of Options,” where it isn’t as bombastic and you can hear it more; Archives vocals balance it out, but it doesn’t take away the disappointment. Still, the production has the quality to keep it afloat through a few tracks within and around the middle, like “Forbidden Feelingz,” “Nightmares” and “Out of Option;” Archives does enough to tie it together, weaving something unique and more subdued compared to her more bombastic records of prior; when listening to how the loud clashing of percussion weaves itself in a nuanced fashion on the album, it showcases Archives’ fantastic vocals through the riotous layers, offering some catchy hooks, while having its identity stand out. It’s more personable to the experience as she relishes in the genres that got her into music and allows her to emanate some anxiety and other emotions, giving it more to love.
Co-produced with Ethan P. Flynn, a frequent collaborator, they deliver an album with a throughline, never displacing itself for a systematic interpersonal anthem. Though that isn’t a total dig at artists who do because I tend to be a fan of many, though that’s more dependent on the expected direction the artist takes with the album, of course, but Archives choosing to be more of herself gives it more latching power as an identity piece. It makes tracks like “Killjoy!” and “So Tell Me…” such powerhouses, especially the latter where its pop tinges are inadvertent, giving weight to the atmospheric textures over the enigmatic production. “F.A.M.I.L.Y” is another track that shows its hand, as its modest simplistic percussion patterns are profound like the meaning of family to Nia Archives, a contrast to the more spacey but hype “Blind Devotion.” It leaves you latching to tracks for more than just the positives from the writing and vocals of Archives, especially with a track like “Crowded Roomz,” where its indie rock influence adds parallels to its themes of loneliness and sadness. It uses the setting of a crowded space to amplify that notion, like the antithesis to “Dancing On My Own” by Robyn.
I loved Nia Archives’ debut, but as it turns out, there are some minor inconsistencies. These inconsistencies create a more tepid fluidity that may have some taken aback, especially when the genre/style of the production is from the typical trend of House and EDM influences in music. It’s more like Avalon Emerson’s album than it is something like Romy’s. I loved it for being itself, even if it takes some minor safe routes too, but it all acquiesces into a cohesive flow that will make anyone a fan, even if you weren’t before. From the writing to the production, there is significant synergy that was memorable between production and vocals and that is all I need to have my ears melt with musical glee.
Leave a comment