Nina Harker - s/t

2021 repress of a record that blew a few minds last year on initial release. The news today is that time has diminished this not one bit, only adding to the smoky mystery that surrounds the French duo. And Nina Harker being a French duo is where the 'facts' end as far as i can tell, but if you're looking for signposts it's telling that the back sleeve, which features the lyrics (i think?) in multiple languages, is printed upside down. This polyglot presentation is mirrored by their musical pluralism, which - and i'm grasping here to cover all bases - sits somewhere between Brannten Schnure creepiness, Dean Blunt's avant pop dreamzones, the volksmusik backbone of the Forlag For Fri Muzik sect, and somehow, the weirder players connected with Neue Deutsche Welle. It's a wild and knotty trip, smoke and mirrors and dead ends, yet also overflowing with moments of prettiness and light. It stays as it was last year (but hopefully now with a few more ears turned its way) - clarion call from a distinct new voice from the underground.