Northern Lite x Wanderer – Contrails

More electro, less indie – Northern Lite are back

For years, I had almost given up on Northern Lite. All of their Berlin indie pop tendencies over the last decade, with a few exceptions such as “Here You Go” or “Au Revoir (Feat. Die Ruhe)”, simply didn't appeal to me anymore—too polished, not enough electric heart. So it was all the more surprising that “Contrails” immediately grabbed me again. Finally, more electronics, more cold machine warmth, more classic Northern Lite feeling. The track sounds as if they had briefly forgotten the last ten years and remembered their club roots.

What appeals to me in particular is that familiar balance between cool synth pads and controlled emotionality. “Contrails” breathes that dark club dust again, where the bassline and beat don't just drift, they pull you in – almost like a throwback to a time when the name Northern Lite stood for dark glow on dance floors. Lyrically, it doesn't get more goth than singing about our collective transience. “Against all our endeavor / We won't last forever” – there's no simpler way to sum up our mortality in words.

I don't know yet whether the new album “Vorwärts Leben” will convince me overall. The track titles don't sound like my taste (too many typical German Berlin indie pop titles), but if “Contrails” sets the tone, then things could actually get exciting again after a long period of stagnation. A song that reminds me why I once liked Northern Lite – and why I'm listening to them again now.