Sounds like…

Simple and clean indie folk.

The review

Mixing together Laura Veirs hooks and vocal styles with something a little more dreamlike, NOGA has a specific focus. She likes to take bad or unfortunate situations and write about how you can make the best of them. ‘The Alchemist’ brings this to life both lyrically but sonically too. Yes, this is indie-folk and bedroom pop having a mellow moment but it is uplifting too.

Across the four tracks, NOGA gets slower and more Americana and bluesy as it continues. The title track has BBC6 Music written all over it. From the uptempo drums and slight guitar and piano jangle to NOGA’s clean and innocent voice, it works. Breezy but dropping truths everywhere without you knowing, it’s a song with a warm melody you may not catch on first listen. That hidden happiness carries on through the dusty shuffle of ‘Any Kind of Dream’. It is a Laura Veirs twin and that’s a compliment, not a disrespect to either. ‘Special Friend’ and ‘Tides’ close out the album with more of a rockier focus, with the latter building up to a cathartic electric guitar-led outro sequence. It is never speedy but it’s the case of a tortoise building momentum to power its way through a wall over time.

Short, sweet and over in under 14 minutes, ‘The Alchemist’ is a brief but enjoyable indie-folk affair. If you enjoy Laura Veirs, Neko Case, Laura Marling and Mirah, you’ll likely fall for NOGA too.

Recommended track: The Alchemist

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