Melbourne duo nyck (pronounced n.y.c.k.), Nick Acquroff & Dominique Garrard, are truly a unique gem in the Australian music industry, and one more need to know about. Incorporating light electronica into the singer/songwriter genre, nyck deliver stunning writing and performances through beautiful rawness. In late June last year they released their debut song Decision, a sad, despondent track that left listeners wanting to shed more tears if it meant they would keep getting songs as great as that. After a couple of hours on being up on Triple J Unearthed, nyck had already snagged a feature on both the Unearthed site and Facebook page. It was no surprise really, and Alive does more to attest to why nyck are already so acclaimed.

With this EP we finally understand the range, scope and palette that nyck have. After their first two singles, we understood that nyck knows how to encapsulate sad, and also relatable, emotion. Personally, I had two things that I wanted to hear on Alive, the first being for Garrard to take the spotlight on a track and the other was to hear more uplifting tones and themes; and boy am I happy to say that I got exactly that.

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Though Acquroff seems to be the lead of nyck, every song here, at it’s foundations, feels like a gorgeous duet over a piano. By their vocals and their chemistry, Acquroff & Garrard achieve a wholesome feeling together that couldn’t be reached any other way. Take the track Resident, Acquroff leading but the backing vocals from Garrard in the verses is simply blissful, especially when she trails off past Acquroff. It gives a sense that the two trust and understand the ways in which their voices work together. A song like Decision really shows this off as well, as the two deliver a wonderful harmony that conveys the sadness of the lyrics. In saying that the two work well in tandem, doesn’t take away from the fact that they also know how to shine on their own. Speak My Mind is the stand out performance for Acquroff, really showing off his strong vocals and range. Though the song Summer Inside is one of my favourites, Garrard really getting to exhibit her ability, not only is it a treat to listen to but also refreshing, Acquroff sounding great on backing as well.

It’s clear from all the tracks on Alive that the piano is nyck’s forte, using it to perfectly suit the tone of the lyrics in a slow, melodic way. Though when it’s not the most prominent aspect of the instrumental, what’s going on surrounding the piano stands out. On the track This Might Be My Year, while the piano begins as the centrepiece, when the semi-distorted trumpets come in on the chorus it’s refreshing and wholly uplifting. But the delight doesn’t stop there, the track builds up into this culmination of happiness that’s elicited by some much: the increased pace of the piano, the tambourine coming in, the kick-drum, the clapping becoming more than just rhythm. Then there’s Speak My Mind, which incorporates a subtle blend of electronica with it’s vocal sample of Garrard and altered drum beats. Though the song also brings in a great use of guitar to play underneath the track. The best moments on any record, I find, is when a song gets a brilliant curve ball thrown into it, and nyck certainly did that with most of Alive’s production and instrumentation.

What caught my attention the most from the duo was their writing. On their first song Decision, we get a story of someone that made a harrowing choice to end a relationship. But more than dilapidating relationships, we get a sense of where nyck are at at the moment. This Might Be My Year, I can only guess is about how quickly nyck began to get recognised, though there is layers to the way it’s been written, giving off hope to begin with but there’s also innocence with some confusion in there. Then the songs Resident and Summer Inside  are probably the two songs that entirely attribute to the EP’s title, Alive. Resident seemingly about finding your place in the world as, like we all do, have ideas of where we will go in life even though as we get older events and people change our ideas. Both the songs have skits that reaffirm what it is to be “Alive”. In Resident, at the end we get what seems to be Nick and Dom practicing a song while they discover what works and what doesn’t, that mistakes get made and we learn from them. On Summer Inside the beginning gives us a nice moment between Acquroff and his Grandmother, and in the context of the record is a great showing of someone who has taken a lot out of life and is relaying it back to a younger generation.

nyck really knocked this out of the park, using all their skills to craft a unique and beautiful sound, all the while executing it brilliantly. You can check out a live version of their track Decision below!

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