Review: Joshua Hobbins
There’s no easing into A Short History of Decay. From its opening moments, Nothing strip away the comforting haze of reverb and nostalgia, replacing it with something far more confronting: honesty. Domenic Palermo’s voice arrives unguarded and exposed. Where previous releases wrapped vulnerability in towering walls of fuzz, this time Nothing let the cracks show, emotionally, physically, and sonically, making this their most intimate and emotionally exposed record to date.
Never Come Never Morning sets the emotional framework immediately, Palermo delivering the opening line, “when I was young life was easy,” over sparse acoustic guitar before the band slowly enters. It is a quietly devastating introduction that foregrounds his voice in a way Nothing rarely have, allowing every tremor and hesitation to sit plainly in the mix. That level of honesty runs through the entire record.
From there, Cannibal World shifts gears, folding industrial drum-and-bass rhythms beneath warbly, reverb-soaked fuzz that recalls earlier Nothing releases. The track collapses into lo-fi textures before rebuilding toward its mechanised closing passage, establishing a recurring push and pull between abrasion and atmosphere that runs throughout the album. The title track builds on that hypnotic feel, its looping “over and over again” refrain floating above beats that coexist with open, organic drums and percussion, while the guitars drift back toward a more familiar shoegaze glow.
The Rain Don’t Care offers one of the album’s most emotionally direct moments. Brooding yet melodic, its chord choices carry a subtle Beatles-esque warmth with a hint of country flavour, anchored by piano that lends a peaceful but melancholic weight. That intimacy continues on Purple Strings, where acoustic guitar once again takes centre stage. Palermo’s line “I’m getting to know myself in spite of the bend” lands hard, while understated string arrangements introduce a classical tension that feels ominous, like something waiting just beyond reach.
Toothless Coal pivots toward darker terrain, driven by a propulsive beat and wrapped in an almost ’80s dark-pop atmosphere. It shows how comfortably Palermo can nod to his influences while remaining unmistakably himself, with industrial grit cutting sharply against moments of beauty. That restraint carries into Ballet of the Traitor, a simple but quietly devastating piece where guitars sit just behind the mix, holding everything together as washed-out, doubled vocals glide overhead. Nerve Scales flips that dynamic, pushing guitars back into prominence and introducing a subtle trip-hop undercurrent that feeds into the album’s melancholic atmosphere. It feels both modern and nostalgic, reinforcing the sense that Nothing are simultaneously looking forward and inward.
The drums across the album are outstanding, and Zachary Jones deserves real credit for his thoughtful performance and restraint. Sometimes playing less is harder than unleashing chaos, and here it pays off.
The record closes with Essential Tremors, delivering one of its most striking lines: “honesty ain’t free and freedom isn’t me.” It is a perfect popgaze finale, with Palermo presenting himself plainly and without armour, bringing the album full circle in a moment of quiet reckoning.
A Short History of Decay is not content to simply revisit Nothing’s shoegaze foundations. It dismantles them, rebuilding something heavier, more fragile, and far more human in their place. Industrial rhythms grind against delicate melodies, acoustic passages sit beside mangled distortion, and Palermo’s unfiltered delivery anchors everything with unsettling honesty.
It stays with you, sitting quietly in your head long after the final notes fade, evoking the same quietly apocalyptic melancholy as Dark. Morose yet hopeful, introspective but strangely comforting, it finds beauty in decay and meaning in cycles.
A Short History of Decay also doesn’t feel like an ending. It feels like a hard-earned moment of clarity. Nothing sound reinvigorated, unafraid to sit with discomfort, and more emotionally direct than ever before. It’s heavy without just being loud, intimate without feeling small.
This is a powerful statement from a band still evolving, and one of their most compelling releases to date.
NOTHING – A SHORT HISTORY OF DECAY’ ALBUM OUT FRIDAY 27 FEBRUARY VIA RUN FOR COVER/CIVILIANS https://lnk.to/bandofnothing-ashod
