Nonconnah: Nonconnah Vs. The Spring of Deception

On Nonconnah Vs. The Spring of Deception, Nonconnah’s follow-up to last year’s excellent Cruel Nature release, Shadows from the Walls of Death, the Memphis duo dispense a fantasy-like hybridised version of psychedelia.

Magpie and Denny Corsa have a spent a career rifling through the archives, marrying up droning soundscapes, eerie voiceovers and field recordings that take the listener on a voyage to the outer limits. A quick glance at ….Vs. The Spring of Deception’s artwork will tell you that this is yet another odyssey beyond Nonconnah’s sonic enclave.

Nonconnah’s journeys usual result in an intense form of escapism, and it’s no different on here. An Escape from Doomscroll Valley is inspired by the escaping the clutches of, well… digital consumerism! And Nonconnah provide the soundscapes to match the scourge, with diesel-fuelled drones that make the heart explode. Alongside synths that rain glitter from the skies, if ever you wanted to bottle up the Nonconnah experience, then this is the moment.

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Meanwhile, We Were Free Here Once, You Will Be Shown A Series of Colors and Tones and This Crucible of Ground Will Remain…  provide the essence of what Nonconnah set out to accomplish here. Wholesome, panoramic walls of noise that undulate and cascade, ducking and weaving through the orbits. It’s these large-hearted moments of sonic defiance that feed into a sparkling ambience that Nonconnah have always explored, albeit fleetingly. Here, though, they fully embrace it.

Soundbites and field recordings have always been vital in the band’s remit, where religion (Tied Together in the Deepest Current) and supernatural forces (the above mentioned An Escape from Doomscroll Valley) are threads woven in the band’s patchwork. It’s this collage of sound that has always made Nonconnah’s work something of a puzzle for the listener to piece together. Except it’s one that will always remain unsolved, and the ultimate reason to keep coming back.  

Along with these passages, there are also sullen moments. The Seven Lights from the Dark and When They Opened Their Mouths They Sounded Like Shrieking Birds are hymnal snapshots that weigh heavier than usual. Where the latter is concerned, the thrumming strings pass off the same effect as the prepared guitars recently mastered by Ex-Easter Island Head.

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Oscillating between ethereal bliss and a storm of sound, closing track, … Like Some Distant Star Collapsing sees Nonconnah leaving their best for last. The kind of composition that encapsulates what this project is about, as the sound of hope and hell colliding like freight trains. It’s a piece that could have featured on The Leftovers OST (fitting, given Corsa’s side hustle alongside droneroom’s Blake Conley as Jesus’ Twin Brother cribbed quotes from the landmark series as song titles on their debut LP, You’re Here).

And while the emotions of euphoria and despair face off, Nonconnah deliver something completely open sourced. The Flying Saucer Attack comparisons have always been suggested, however the ideas that Nonconnah part with feel far more spiritual, feeding into totally different spaces. It’s an exploration of sound that reaches out into the unknown, and during a time where the world feels like it’s about to implode, Nonconnah Vs. The Spring of Deception feels like the soundtrack to a different place altogether.   

Nonconnah Vs. The Spring of Deception is out now via Absolutely Kosher. Purchase from Bandcamp.