North Atlantic Oscillation - Soft Coda
The second track to make it’s way online from North Atlantic Oscillation’s stunning new record and the lead single from the record, ‘Soft Coda’, can be heard along with a hypnotic accompanying video.
‘Soft Coda’ comes out next week, preceding the band’s moody, complex and diverse second record ‘Fog Electric’, which is released on April 30th through Kscope. They will also be playing a special album launch show at The Tabernacle Church in London's Notting Hill on Wednesday 2nd May.
‘Soft Coda’ is 4 minutes of swooping electronics and delicately shimmering melodies, illustrated by a suitably beautiful & intricate video, directed by Paul Bloomfield and Tadashi Abe at Ploomers.
‘Fog Electric’ was recorded & co-produced by Tony Doogan (Super Furry Animals, Mogwai, Teenage Fanclub, Belle & Sebastian) and is the follow-up to Grappling Hooks, NAO‘s highly acclaimed debut, which was released in 2010.
The title, 'Fog Electric’, taken from the lyric of album track 'Mirador', introduces a stormy theme that runs throughout the record’s sounds - in the crashing electronics, delicate lulls, mystery and hidden soul beneath the surface: a leitmotif also reflected in the typically stylish and dramatic artwork.
"It's an album about doubt and loss, but there's a counterbalancing sense of resignation and even optimism too." explains singer Sam Healy.
"One of the main themes is that of searching for meaning in a scientific, post-religious world.
"Science is absolutely a force for good, but after it showed us that the physical world is all there is, and that far from stripping experiences of their mystery this revelation actually makes them more mysterious, it sort of left us to our own devices in terms of producing the unscripted, improvised drama that is life-minus-god."
NAO are based in Edinburgh. They are Sam Healy (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, programming) and Ben Martin (drums, synths, programming). They are joined live by Bill Walsh (bass, vocals) and Chris Howard (bass & synths).