The Last Dinosaur – The Nothing

Baroque Pop | Ambient | Indie Folk

93%

It’s said that the saddest music is often the most beautiful. Though its origins can be traced back to sorrow and tragedy, in that it was inspired by the sad loss of songwriter Jamie Cameron’s best friend in a car crash in his youth, The Nothing is not the sad album you’d expect. If anything this record is a celebration of life, a magnificent and uplifting chorus promising solidarity and peace of mind. It speaks to something deep within you and offers an unspoken sense of reassurance, a vow that things are never as bad as they seem. Its orchestral swells are simply moving beyond measure, creating an atmosphere that you’d be hard pressed to equal. This is the kind of record that will stay with you for a very long time.

The bittersweet folk-infused ‘Grow’ is reminiscent of The National, while album highlight ‘All My Faith’, with its calls of “you will be loved”, offers the finest pick of angelic melodies from this bountiful garden of a record. Some Dick Parry-esque saxophone makes an appearance on ‘We’ll Greet Death’, but the exquisite piano on ‘The Body Collapse’ really captures what is so special about this record, creating the very epitome of elegance and grace. The swell of strings against the fragile folk on such tracks as ‘I Couldn’t Wait’ paint a telling portrait of the artist, giving the listener an intimate insight into the soul behind the music. Here is an album that will leave tears welling up that are a potent brew of sadness and joy.  The Nothing is an album of transcendent beauty and is one of the finest pieces of music I’ve had the privilege of reviewing.