Norvaiza

The title track of Cremation Ground creeps open like a burglar tip-toeing around a palace with a backpack full of emeralds. Strings are plucked with paranoid care, vocals peregrinate slowly and the morbid suspense lingers until Todd Macdonald, the maestro behind Norvaiza, lightens the mood with a surge of chimerical harmony alongside accompanying singer Sarah Albu. The song, much like this entire EP, is ominous and delicate-meticulously so-with haunting moments just disconcerting enough to be intriguing.

Cremation Ground marks the debut output for Norvaiza, but multi-instrumentalist Macdonald has been a certifiable Montréal appurtenance for years. A founding member of the now defunct chamber–pop ground The Winks, he’s played and recorded with Secret Mommy, Gutstrings and Elastic Fountains, among others. Norvaiza, however, is an effort all his own, ruled by the brooding vulnerability of Macdonald’s echoing baritone coupled with sharp mandolin, intimate lyrics and soft, sonic subtleties.

As it manifests in this set, that cathedral-sized ambition offers a glimpse of the potential figures Norvaiza may someday be molded into. And for now, any one of them is a solid beginning. “Shadow’s Path” improbably pulls off a sensitive–Lou Reed–sociopath vibe while ”Ice Cube in a Plastic Cup,” with its grandiose mandolin upswing and sullen strumming could pass for an early Beirut song. Cremation Ground’s denouement, “The River Ideath,” is a fifteen-minute-long apocalypse missive that sounds more like a psychological thriller soundtrack than a piece that should follow such stirring harmonies and thoughtful composition.

For better or for worse this is an EP that works through its moods – that wallows in agony, that weathers the storm of its own making. It is cathartic without forsaking its artfulness, which is what makes it the kind of record you might listen to many times, and not just the inflexible side experiment of someone with enough musical know-how to make a few mandolin-driven pop songs sound avant. With Cremation Ground, Norvaiza succeeds in making something mystical
- HASH Magazine

Norvaisa

I was sitting in a quiet apartment in Brooklyn on the day before Halloween wondering what I could entertain myself with before the run came to an end. I knew my time having a free apartment was coming to an end & I wanted to take advantage of it before heading back to dreaded Long Island.

When it comes time to decide what activity to partake in, anything music related will usually be near or at the top of the list. This day was no different as I decided to do one of my usual numbers, find a random indie show to attend. So I browsed all the usual spots & decided to head to Cake Shop in the Lower East Side to check out Norvaisa which is the new project from Todd Macdonald, the founding member of The Winks.

Their Bandcamp page tagged the music as being “dreamy pop folk mandolin thrash Montréal” which peaked my curiosity. So with not knowing much else, I headed over as what is the worst that could happen, the show would be terrible? It was a free show & the only thing I would lose is time which I had plenty of that night anyhow.

I get there & as I expected, the room had very few people in it. I tend to like it that way as I am a sucker for an intimate set. Todd came to the stage with his trusty mandolin & a good friend who played guitar. The entire set had a very subdued feel to it which fits the Cake Shop very well considering how the stage is lit. The stage banter was brief but what we did get gave off a vibe of people not being too serious & enjoying the moment for what it was, a good time with good music being the headliner.

My favorite song of the set by far was Orange Achilles which I highly recommend checking out since it is available on their Elastic Fountains EP available on Bandcamp. The coolest moment would have to be when he invited a couple of friends to sing on a new song. You could tell that it was new & never rehearsed. However even with the awkwardness of performing a new song on the fly, the genuine feeling of just going with the flow was clearly evident.

Who knows when Norvaisa will be back in town to play but when they are, I will try my best to make it down & you should as well. - Surge FM (New York)

Montréal's dreamweavers Norvaiza take us on a light-headed journey through the astral plane, traversing space and time with their special brand of esoteric dream-pop. Stately, soothing songs lull the listener out of their bodies and into the celestial sphere.'
- Pop Montreal - Pop Montreal 2011

Norvaiza:
It was my first time seeing this act but technically I’ve seen Todd played in a different band which was The Winks. Norvaiza is mostly his own works of music.
The music was mostly indie folk pop-rock with some added dreamy feel.
I really like the set. - PhotogMusic

#12 Norvaiza — “Cremation Ground”

by Carly Lewis (Vice, Exclaim, National Post) - Milk in my Eyelids

Todd Macdonald s’est fait connaître au sein du groupe folk baroque The Winks, dissous en 2010. Le multi-instrumentiste refait surface cet automne avec un nouveau projet, Norvaiza et un premier maxi, Cremation Ground. Il faut plusieurs écoutes pour saisir la proposition avant-gardiste de Macdonald, entre folk et rock progressif. Norvaiza transcende les étiquettes et les genres musicaux; Shadow’s Path laisse entrevoir de très belles qualités atmosphériques. C’est toutefois lorsque l’on frôle la dream pop que Cremation Ground est le plus intéressant, même si l’envolée ambiante de The River Ideath est étonnante. Disponible en téléchargement à contribution volontaire.

Todd Macdonald became known in the baroque folk group, The Winks that dissolved in 2010. The multi-instrumentalist resurfaced this fall with a new project called Norvaiza along with a debut EP entitled Cremation Ground. It takes several listens to understand the forward thinking Macdonald mix of folk and progressive rock. Norvaiza transcends labels and musical genres and tracks like Shadow's Path glimpse at beautiful atmospheric qualities. However, it’s the dream pop that touches Cremation Ground which is the most interesting, though the soaring ambient track The River Ideath is amazing.
- 500khz

Former leading light of psych/twee rockers The Winks, Todd Macdonald ’s latest project Norvaiza is, natch, centered around the mandolin. There is a nicely moody cabaret feel to some of these songs, surprising in all the right ways, with some quick left turns and tasty enmeshing of jazzy pointillism and kitchen-sink percussion propelled by Macdonald’s mastery of the mandolin, hallucinant lyrics and solid songwriting. Tracks billow and explode to peaks, to drift back down, propelled by the deftly chosen instrumentation. A unique and finely crafted bunch of songs by an off-kilter talent. - The Big Takeover