VNV Nation – Noire

The word "Perfection" comes to mind while listening to this. Wow. Vinyl pressing is great too!

I took a lengthy break from VNV from the mid 2000's to the late 2010's, mostly because I myself took a break from the industrial scene as a DJ, producer, and participant, but also because that was the era when VNV was mostly releasing very trancey-sounding synthpop. Which I can get into here and there in the right setting, but it just never resonated with me like either of those genres did on their own. Then a few years ago I decided to see what they were up to and discovered Automatic, which was a monster of an album and won me back over to the things with VNV that appealed to me in the first place.

Just like Automatic, I totally missed when Noire came out and i was in the dark about what VNV was doing. It took my wife being rushed to the emergency room for a particularly bad bout of covid-19 for me to finally give Noire a full listen, while I was waiting outside in my car, anxiously awaiting her prognosis. The opener, A Million, was probably not what I needed at that moment for how incredibly dark and demanding it is - but it reminded me how fuckin' good Ronan can be when he gets in that mood. But then Armour came on and it is EXACTLY what I needed in that moment. "When it feels I can't go on... let your armor cover me." Dammit Ronan, you always say something that simultaneously chills me to my core and gives me this incredible amount of hope and optimism. It is the epitome of VNV's ethos, through word and sound - that constant battle between dark and light. And I have not heard this timeless struggle portrayed like this since Empires, almost 20 years earlier.

While not every song does it for me, overall, Noire is an incredible album. I mean, can't you tell by this long ass review already? A Million and Armour are just the start. Wait till you hear Wonders, the best song I have heard from VNV since Automatic's Gratitude. What a fun, uplifting, incessant dancefloor killer. The best kind of EBM there is, IMO. There are several more high energy EBM/synthpop jams, as well as introspective "interludes" to break up the intensity, all of which are appreciated from a start-to-finish perspective. Ronan definitely knows how to throw these albums together and I might have to say this is the best album of his since Empires. Yeah I know, I said that about Automatic too... ok, let's just say they are both tied for 3rd place :) Great work Ronan, thrilled to own this on vinyl and be truly back in the fold again.

How is the quality of this Noire black vinyl pressing?

Missing Info: This release is 2x 180gr black Vinyl! Maybe someone add this Info to description!!
Cheers