Novo Amor – Collapse List

Art Rock | Baroque Pop

77%

 

I recall once watching a documentary about art forgers which stuck with me for a multitude of reasons. It focused on one forger in particular who’d made millions after years spent fooling esteemed art experts with his work. He was accomplished in a wide array of mediums, from pottery and sculpture to silverwork and watercolours, but was especially adept at oil painting. The way they described his forgeries made it sound like there was barely a single brush stroke separating them from the real deal. When he was finally caught, the vast majority of the experts he had duped bore no ill will towards him, and in fact advocated for a reduced sentence, appalled at the idea of such an artistic talent wasting away in a prison cell. Because while making a copy isn’t the same as conceiving a masterpiece in the first place, being able to produce that same result down to the most minute detail still requires just as much skill and mastery of your craft. 

I discovered Novo Amor at some point over the pandemic, and I expect I was drawn in by the same thing as most everyone else: the fact that he sounds just like Bon Iver. More specifically, he sounds like Bon Iver at their best. Right at that sweet spot between the haunting folk of For Emma, Forever Ago and the opulent baroque pop of their self titled. Both of those records feel like a fixed point in time slowly drifting out of sight in the rear-view mirror. Each home to a sound that has influenced countless acts, but which has proven difficult to replicate. Even Justin Vernon himself has struggled to recapture that lightning in a bottle on subsequent records. There’s always been so much untapped potential in that sound. The quiet introspection, the vocoder tinged falsetto, the grand elegant expanse. Novo Amor leaves no stone unturned as he excavates every last gram of beauty from that particular creative vein record after record.

There’s plenty more of that magic formula to be found on this latest release, even if it’s not Novo Amor at his best. Birthplace was home to richer arrangements, with a greater emphasis on orchestral elements, while Cannot Be, Whatsoever had more energy and stronger hooks. Instead Collapse List explores a more soft and introspective facet of the sound. The way the gorgeous strings on the touching instrumental interlude ‘Sand & Sky’ give way to the bittersweet piano balladry of ‘Ornaments’. How the sparse dreamy expanse of ‘Just Another Way’ is punctuated by soft swells of lap steel. These quiet moments require more time and attention than previous records, but they’re more than worth the investment. Rest assured though that the album is not without its occasional burst of energy. The off kilter piano-led beat of ‘Same Day, Same Face’ leads headlong into a dazzling guitar solo, while the chilled out folk of ‘Co-Pathetic’ shifts gear mid-track into a cathartic meeting of dramatic drums, expressive guitar work and its captivating refrain of “You better get some balance, you better find a way, You better get somebody to be your always“. 

While not my favourite record, I think the more stripped back nature of Collapse List makes it the perfect jumping off point to dive deeper into Novo Amor’s discography. A stripped back foundation to build upon layer by layer. And sure, you may stop here for the Bon Iver comparison, but ultimately you stick around as Novo Amor has such command over that sound that at this point it feels just as much his as Justin Vernon’s. If you cover your wall with paintings that purposefully echo the works of Monet or Van Gogh, at some point you stop seeing mere imitations of greatness and begin seeing and appreciating it for what it truly is; great art in its own right.