Review
Nadja
Flipper

Do you find that at times you need to change your perspective on something or someone, and if so how exactly do you gain that fresh perspective? For my part, gaining a fresh perspective usually means walking away from something for a period of time and coming back with a regained enthusiasm and excitement to dive back into whatever it was that I needed a break from in the first place; well, this happened with Nadja for me around the time that they seemed to be doing a ton of splits and collaborations (some of which were excellent while the majority either seemed so-so or just not all that great for me) rather than working on their own records.

Flipper is the name of the album (a benefit album for animal advocacy groups for dolphins and whales) that Nadja drew me back into an active listening experience, and while I cannot completely put my finger on exactly why this record struck a chord with me, Aidan Baker and Leah Buckeroff do some truly great sounding pieces of music this time; perhaps it is the addition of viola (courtesy of Angela Chan) and violin (as played by Peter Broadrick) that brings a warm and lush additional layer to the already dreamy sounds that Nadja has a reputation for producing, and when you hear the way that Nadja sounds with the strings for the first time on “Drown”, you just might get immediately drawn into the whole album just like I was and am as the other three songs are similar in that they are mellow ruminations that are quiet and reserved but very warm sounding.

What impresses me the most about Flipper is that Baker and Buckeroff do an excellent job of not only making the album enjoyable to listen to but that there is that little something extra that keeps bringing you back to listen to the album over and over, and the quiet calm that the album emanates works on two levels in that on one hand, the songs are never overbearing or annoying in anyway while it coaxes you into paying closer attention to songs like “Hand” to hear all of the elegant nuance that Nadja displays here. Flipper is certainly not the loudest release that Nadja has released, but this album may arguably be one of the best of their decade plus existence, which in it of itself is an accomplishment; without a doubt this album has quickly become one of my favorites from the band and is one that I consistently return to whenever I feel like listening to them.