Above her often post-punk backdrops is her terse voice, piercing through those stiff, edgy instrumentals. This deliberate push to the front and centre shows Nomates knows how to control her presence, captivating the studio space just as she does on stage.
Compared to her previous releases filled with stoic and bouncy synthpop numbers, Nomates’ edge is at its bluntest on Metalhorse, where she attempts to balance her sonic extremes. Her 2020 eponymous debut can be distantly likened to Dry Cleaning, down to Nomates’ slicing interjections reminiscent of the English band’s own Florence Shaw and the angular basslines. 2023’s CACTI ditched the stark sparsity entirely for clean-cut, new wave dance-pop stylings. Now with Metalhorse, piano-centric melodies populate every other track: Nomates’ musical breadth is on full display.
The sprightly, jubilant pop-rock balladry may be jarring at
first – after all, snappy dance-punk is her staple – but the
slickly-produced larger-than-life arrangements make room for her voice
to sound heroic. There’s greater room for her to project herself –
Nomates rising above the music is no longer merely brusque, but
purposeful. The titular opener “Metalhorse” swings right into this
bright palette, Nomades’ notes soaringly held, fluttering aloft the
crisp, chirpy sounds: “If you want to jump out / Out the merry-go-round /
There’s a way to go about it,” she appropriately sings. Lead single
“The Test” continues this reinvention, sitting somewhere between her
deft synth stylings and heartland rock territory with a defiant chorus.
“The Test” can be broadened to Metalhorse’s contents concerning Nomates’ sound so far – it’s like riding on a carousel, relishing the thrill of the galloping ride, while Nomates divulges her ups and downs. At the heart of Metalhorse is life’s tumults: risk, pleasure, danger, and exhilaration. All that risk-taking is in the music, as heard in the elegant pianos. A more unpredictable move is the unfolding “Dark Horse Friend,” where a male voice, The Stranglers’ frontman Hugh Cornwell, enters the fore as the song warmly lets loose.
However, a consequence of Nomates’ risk-taking is palpable cracks in her valiance. Slow-burning tracks “Life’s Unfair” and “Strange Gift” delineate their relatable digests right from their titles. The soft-spoken balladry disrupts the flow of the surrounding uptempo numbers, translating as “we’ve been here before.” Her singularity disappears for a moment here – perhaps that’s a price for aiming towards further stardom.
Still, Metalhorse largely succeeds in conveying the pushing and pulling through life. That is also where Nomates resides with her music. Moments of joy and uncertainty are on this ride – as we’re spun by the happenings in Nomates’ life, maybe even more melodic cards are yet to leave her sleeve.
