welcome to listen!nashville.com

The band Novelift is no doubt a Nashville anomaly, writing and performing goth-alternative rock in a city that leans heavily toward acoustic guitars and telecaster twang. Los Angeles would no doubt be a more receptive city, so we can only hope that these guys will hang in there and help reverse our unfortunate stereotypical image. At the heart of Novelift is lead singer Colin Ambrose, who has an incredible vocal range reminiscent of Michael Aston from Gene Loves Jezebel and Ian Astbury of The Cult.

Indeed, there is a resurgence of interest in late 80's alternative goth/glam rock (both Gene Loves Jezebel and The Cult have recently reformed and are currently on tour), and while Novelift is entirely unique, their brand of melancholy goth-rock fits nicely into the mold already formed by these groups. One listen to any of Novelift's posted songs on their myspace page reveals the brilliance in both Ambrose's vocal delivery and (the band's) production abilities. In a live show, Novelift accurately reproduces their studio polish, while simultaneously bringing a spontaneous energy to their performance. The Mercy Lounge show featured mostly new songs, as "Beggars and Billionaires" was the only song played from their current 6-song EP.

Unlike the aforementioned Michael Aston and Ian Astbury, Colin Ambrose is not an extravagant frontman. To be sure, Ambrose always elusively situates himself at his piano facing directly stage right or left, while his profile remains hidden by a swath of hair. He rarely comments between songs, and when he does speak he sounds exhausted. However, there is a kind of existential consistency in Ambrose, and I'm convinced that his stage-presence, although unconventional, will appeal to a much wider audience once the new disc is released. Novelift is a great band, and the upcoming full-length CD (no word yet on its release) should bring them well-deserved world-wide attention. —Vincent Wynne

archives back to photo additional photo view novelift's myspace page