Violet Cold Wraps Up Album Trilogy With Beautiful "Sommermorgen, Pt. III: Nostalgia"

Azerbaijan doesn't quite have a space in the world's music scene, but there's definitely loads of talent to be found there. The Azerbaijani one-man band project Violet Cold is a prime example, just completing a series of instrumental albums that work to capture raw emotion. Violet Cold wraps up his album trilogy with the beautiful Sommermorgen, Pt. III: Nostalgia.

With an instrumental album, what's most important is atmosphere, and there's plenty to be found in Sommermorgen, Pt. III. Opening track 'Sommermorgen' kicks things off with a deceivingly quiet intro, a deep bass and faraway, echoing guitars filling the space with a gorgeous, cavernous hope that quickly expands with expansive guitars and heavy drive. That's truly the formula for Sommermorgen, Pt. III: build up an atmosphere and then explore it. Violet Cold finds different ways to utilize this throughout the record, such as wonderfully layered pianos in 'Lebensmüde.'

Sommermorgen, Pt. III is a great album for atmosphere, but it does have its faults. For one, the drums could've made this record so much bigger and with a stronger impact had they been mixed louder. They're buried in the back of some tracks and get lost in the fray a lot of the time, leaving the drive quiet when it needs to be upfront. A song that really sees that problem is 'Weltschmerz,' where the drive is just too weak even when it feels like it should be an important element to the track. Each track comes with its own unique quality, though, like the beautiful strings in closing track 'Revelation' and the hopeful sound of 'Ein Hauch Von Ewigkeit.'

Violet Cold wraps up his album trilogy with the beautiful Sommermorgen, Pt. III: Nostalgia, a diverse record with lots of atmosphere and intensity to pair with it. It has a lot of little intricacies that'll keep you hooked in, but also comes with its own faults that prevents it from being above and beyond the standard.

Favorite Track: Lebensmüde

Least Favorite Track: Langsamer Als Licht

Rating: 70 / 100

Stream or buy Sommermorgen, Pt. III: Nostalgia on Apple Music, and follow our 2018 Playlist on Spotify: