Nothing a short history of decay

Critic's Take

In measured, appreciative prose David Coleman argues that Nothing have crafted a convincing return on a short history of decay, where tracks like “Purple Strings” and “Toothless Coal” act as the album's emotional centerpieces. He foregrounds Palermo's reflective lyricism and a newfound spaciousness - noting how opener “Never Come Never Morning” leans toward rock while the title track and later songs reaffirm the band’s shoegaze credentials. Coleman’s voice privileges craft over nostalgia, and he frames these best tracks as evidence that Nothing remain essential listeners for anyone asking what the best songs on a short history of decay are now.

Key Points

• The best song is the string-drenched "Purple Strings" because it functions as the album's dreamy centrepiece.
• The album’s core strengths are confident songwriting, stylistic range, and a spacious, melodic approach to shoegaze.

Themes

Critic's Take

Nothing's a short history of decay finds its clearest moments in song-specific intimacy and bruised confession. The review repeatedly points to “Never Come Never Morning” as a grunge-infused opener that confronts Nicky Palermo's abusive father, and to “Essential Tremors” as a bookend that lays bare his genetic condition. There is tenderness in “The Rain Don’t Care” and “Purple Strings”, which together form one of the album's strongest points, and the record often prefers inward-looking clarity over grand gestures. Overall the best tracks on a short history of decay are those that marry Nothing's shoegazey template with personal narrative, making songs like “Never Come Never Morning” and “Essential Tremors” stand out.

Key Points

• The best song moments are those where personal confession meets Nothing's shoegaze sound, notably “Essential Tremors” and “Never Come Never Morning”.
• The album's core strengths are intimacy, inward-looking lyrics, and tasteful blending of shoegaze with industrial and baggy touches.

Themes

Critic's Take

In his measured, context-rich voice Tony Inglis finds the best songs on a short history of decay where Nothing balance legacy and intimacy. He flags “cannibal world” for its breakbeats and lineage echoes, and the title track “a short history of decay” for tumbling, spiralling honesty, while “toothless coal” is listed as a must-hear. The review reads like a conversation about shoegaze’s middle class, noting muscular distress and soft strummed ballads with a rueful, lived-in clarity.

Key Points

• The title track is best for its tumbling, spiralling energy and Palermo’s weary honesty.
• The album’s core strengths are its balance of shoegaze lineage, muscular noise and intimate, solo-leaning balladry.

Themes

Critic's Take

Nothing return with a short history of decay, an album that privileges immersion over surprise, where “a short history of decay” and “cannibal world” sit comfortably in the band’s familiar terrain. Darren Leach writes with measured approval, noting how the songs breathe more and the production is warmer, drawing attention to the record’s hypnotic insistence rather than flashy departures. The best tracks - notably “a short history of decay” and “cannibal world” - showcase that balance of crushing volume and fragile melody that has long defined the group. This is not reinvention but a confident reaffirmation, a quietly heavy soundtrack for introspection fans will welcome.

Key Points

• The title track best encapsulates the band’s balance of crushing volume and fragile melody, making it the album’s centerpiece.
• The album’s core strength is its immersive, reverb-drenched atmosphere and confident continuation of Nothing’s established sound.

Themes

Critic's Take

David McLaughlin writes in a rueful, conversational register that leans into dark humour; he frames Nothing and a short history of decay as an invitation to embrace gloom, noting how songs like “a short history of decay” and “never come never morning” wrap you in a bleak, comforting blanket. His tone is wry and slightly exasperated, admitting the pleasures of sinking into misery even as he registers its excesses. The reviewer positions the best tracks as satisfying rewards for listeners who want catharsis rather than uplift, highlighting their atmosphere and emotional heft.

Key Points

• The title track best embodies the album's bleak, comforting atmosphere.
• The album's core strength is immersive, cathartic gloom delivered with wry tone.

Themes

Critic's Take

Nothing have long trafficked in the marriage of black-metal heft and Slowdive melancholy, but on a short history of decay the best tracks - “cannibal world” and “essential tremors” - are where that alchemy still sparks. Grant Sharples writes with wry patience, praising the Kevin Shields-indebted glide of “cannibal world” and the slow-burn payoff of “essential tremors”, while lamenting that too many songs lapse into inert slowcore. The record’s high points feel lush and expensive, yet they are too few amid long stretches of muted atmospherics. Overall, the album showcases Nothing’s signature contrast of distorted intensity and dreamlike texture, even if the balance tips toward monotony more often than it should.

Key Points

• “cannibal world” is best for its IDM drums, Kevin Shields-like glide guitar, and Palermo’s gauzy vocals.
• The album’s core strength is juxtaposing distorted intensity with dreamy atmosphere, though here the balance often favors inert slowcore.

Themes

Key Points

• The album’s core strength is juxtaposing distorted intensity and dreamy atmosphere, though too many slowcore detours dilute its impact.