NOST are back with their second single! If you haven’t checked out their first, “Black Sun”, then you need to be shaken. But let’s take a moment for another phenomenal release with their latest single, “High and Low”.
From the very first moment, it pulled me in with a slow, deliberate build. Ed’s vocals arrive raw and exposed – there is something incredibly vulnerable about the full sound of this band, holding a quiet intensity that feels deeply personal. That gentle opening soon explodes into a powerful breakdown that kicks the track into gear, anchored by the whisper, “I’m looking at the void.” And you are hooked!
The London-based alt-rock outfit have an uncanny ability to translate vulnerability into sound. Their lyrics feel painfully honest while carrying an emotional weight that lingers long after the track ends. This, for me, is what really makes music. The band name itself carries that same emotional weight; NOST draws from the word nostalgia, once considered a psychological illness between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term combines the Greek nostos (homecoming) and algos (pain) – a meaning that perfectly mirrors the band’s themes of confronting pain rather than letting it consume you. As the guys themselves describe it: “NOST is not just a band — it’s a presence waiting to be named. A space waiting to be opened.”
When the chorus for “High and Low” lands, it escalates everything to another level yet again. There’s a pull to it – the best way I can describe it is like a tension that sits in your stomach – creating that rare feeling where a song doesn’t just play, it hits. You feel the yearning, the ache, the release. It’s interesting, as the band’s social media often uses the phrase “descend into the noise,” and I feel that this is exactly what happens here.
Now, just when you think the track has revealed everything it has to offer, NOST take things one step further. The instrumental passage towards the end isn’t your typical mid-song break. Instead, it feels like a warning siren – a powerful alarm bell that grips you, shaking me before leaving things hanging on a cliff-edge. It’s the kind of moment that leaves you wanting more.
With an EP currently in the works, it’s clear the band are building something special. If you’re not paying attention yet, now’s the time. You don’t want to be sleeping on this lot – get supporting them now because the world is ready, and I am convinced they’re going to take it by storm. Something tells me there’s going to be a lot of people about to “descend into the noise.”
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“High & Low” is out now!
Check out all the bands we review in 2026 on our Spotify and YouTube playlists!
