Naima Bock releases spectacular new album ‘Below A Massive Dark Land’
A little over two years after her critically acclaimed debut album Giant Palm, South London musician Naima Bock has released sophomore record Below A Massive Dark Land, a selection of songs that seamlessly combines energy and tranquillity into an immersive journey through betrayal, regret, solitude and more.
The album opens with third pre-released single Gentle, Bock’s self-confessed favourite song to play. Indeed those familiar with her live performances will likely recognise it, however with a large number of her shows lacking a full band, Below…’s vast range of backing musicians brings a beautifully unique unity to the recorded version of the song that continues throughout the album. The outro’s recording of presumably candid background chatter, whilst perhaps not deliberately so, is reminiscent of similar commotion featured in Giant Palm’s Instrumental, a sweet callback to round off Below…’s first track. It could even be compared to later track Takes One, where the rhythmic clapping that builds in the background comes to a head with the sound of enthusiastic applause and meshes slowly with Bock’s entrancing vocals.
Whilst a lot of the tracks near the beginning of Below… utilise the band to the fullest extent, such as the grandiose horn section that opens Kaley, the album does not lack its quieter, more reflective moments. The second single Further Away shines in this aspect, leaning mainly on a contemplative bouzouki tune punctuated occasionally by the swell of a clarinet. Moving also embraces this calm - the penultimate track on the album, its gentle acoustics work well to represent the solitude that most of Below… was written in.
Fourth single Feed My Release does a spectacular job of connecting the powerful to the peaceful. A much needed respite after the sonorousness of Kaley, the tender guitar riff lulls the listener into a world of pleasant harmonies and mellow clarinet melodies. Although lighthearted in sound, the lyrics hint to a more melancholy side of the song, notable not only in the second verse with “see how I break seven times more than you” but also the lower quality Bock’s voice takes on in the outro as she repeats “you’re the one, I worked it out” in defeat. This forlornness is also heard in the frustration of Lines’ “I gave it my all, what a waste” which builds similarly into surging vocals at the close.
As a whole, Below… is certainly a confident follow-up to Giant Palm’s magnificent debut. Whether it’s the tumbling choruses of Age, sombre lyricism in My Sweet Body or soft reflectiveness of closing track Star, this album truly has something for listeners of every taste.
Listen to Below A Massive Dark Land now.
Photography by El Hardwick.