Dark Passenger The fifth studio album from Broadside, called Nowhere, At Last, is a great mix of styles that the band has tinkered with over the past few efforts. Into The Raging Sea marked a dramatic, and darker turn in the band’s sound, while Broadside’s previous album of Hotel Bleu found them painting with broad and colorful strokes. Nowhere, At Last seems most comfortable brooding in the darkness, as marked by the color aesthetic used in the album cover art and their recent music videos. The music itself found on this record is vibrant, and it blends great guitar parts over electronic elements to keep things at their most engaging and interesting. Lead vocalist Oliver Baxxter continues to improve his vocal performance all over this LP that is brimming with great thematic elements, thoughtful lyrics, and impressive songwriting.
”Cherry Red Ego Death” starts off Nowhere, At Last with an atmospheric and introspective song that finds Baxxter wondering if he’s “enough” in a complex relationship. The chorus highlights this fact as he shares, “You said I’ve become unlovable / Waiting on somebody to rescue me / Always thought I was unbreakable / Till the weight of who I’ve been was crushing me / I feel a fire in my chest / Let it consume till nothing’s left / It’s so clear with the flame drawing near / The cherry’s burning red on my ego death.” The vivid lyrical imagery is well-constructed and highlights the band’s improved songwriting process. After the somber opening statement, the title track sets the album into a comfortable groove with a mid-tempo song regarding the self-doubt that creeps into all of our lives. Baxxter ponders in the second verse, “If you can’t take it with you, then what is the point? / Just hobbies and bodies to fill up the void / This life is a party with silent goodbyes / We’re guessing the meaning while missing the signs,” to allow some further insight into his state of mind when he penned these lyrics. The song gets turned into a club-ready anthem in the final stages of the track that features some cool production and electronic elements to keep things interesting.
”Warning Signs” leans more into a slick guitar-based groove from Domenic Reid, similar to bands like The 1975, while Baxxter continues to impress with a great-sounding vocal performance found here. The pre-chorus of, “Warning sings like neon lights all over wall / It’s easier to act like I don’t see them all” reminds the listener that it’s more convenient to ignore the most obvious indications that things are not going as planned than it is to change our way of thinking. “Control Freak” features a little bit of a misstep in the too simplistic chorus of, “You’re just a control freak / Trying to control me / I feel your hands around my throat,” but with such great instrumentation surrounding the song, it’s an easily forgivable moment on this really solid record.
”Dead Roses” is a great example of when Broadside use just the right mix of electronic production elements, paired with hard-hitting guitars/vocals, to make a standout song. Baxxter paints a picture of a self-destructive person as he croons on the chorus, “I should stand up to myself more / Try to let go of my own war / Been destroying myself / I got no one else to blame / No one else, no one else to blame / I should dose some of my medicine / Pull myself out of my head again / I’ve been dreaming too long / About an early grave.” The grapple with his own mortality is a relatable feeling, and it’s a telling sign of just how unpredictable life can be. “Someone You Need” is a nice ballad that starts off cautiously and vulnerably, before going into power ballad territory with another great guitar performance from Reid, while bassist Pat Diaz and drummer Tay Ewart each pick their spots to make their mark as well.
”Mushroom Cloud” imagines the end of the world and deciding on who we would like to spend our last moments on this Earth with. Baxxter’s vivid lyrics in the second verse of, “Like lovers in Pompeii / I don’t think we’ll escape / Let’s sit back and watch the view / I know how it’s ending / If this is Armageddon / I’ll be getting my arms around you,” continue to focus on the importance of human connections in the most dire of circumstances. “I Think They Know” is a song about impostor syndrome as Baxxter ponders his spot in the crowded alternative rock scene as he sings, “This is a nightmare / Everyone’s staring I swear / I think they know / I don’t belong here / Everyone’s staring I swear / What do they know?” His insecurities are on full display, but the confident instrumentation from his bandmates allows him to rally for a worthy anthem of self-doubt that picks up more momentum as it unfolds.
”Blissed Out” was one of the first singles to be released from the set, and it makes more sense in the context of Nowhere, At Last as a whole rather than a standalone track. The song is dripping with heavy production elements, while Baxxter’s energetic vocal performance keeps things interesting. “Dark Passenger” is one of my most favorite singles to be released this year, and it features the bulletproof chorus of, “I can’t stop / Your venom is intoxicating / Kinda like it, it, yeah / Feels so wrong / Your presence is so suffocating / Riding shotgun / With my dark passenger.” Broadside has no problem continuing to explore the darkest of thoughts and feelings, and they do it with veteran ease.
”What Are You Leaving Behind?” is a riff-heavy song about the importance of leaving a worthy legacy long after we’ve taken our last breath, while the album closer of “Is This It?” ends the record with a somber reminder of how fragile life can be. On the latter song, Baxxter wonders, “Is there a right way to cope? / Is there a cure for being alone? / And what makes a life feel like your own / When death is all that you’ve known?” Broadside have been no strangers to navigating through the darkness as outlined in records like Into the Raging Sea, and they seem very comfortable writing in this same vein on Nowhere, At Last.