Track by Track: Nighshift’s Homosapien
Trying out something new, as I’ve got about a week and a half before I get back to maybe reviewing some albums, like Nightshift‘s Homosapien. The record is out today via the generous folks at Trouble in Mind Records. Instead of doing some long form review, I’m going go after the track by track breakdown format. It’s also a reminder to me, and others that records are sometimes best enjoyed as a whole. Obviously if I’m writing about it, it’s good, so it has my seal of approval.
Stream it as you read all about it!
Crystal Ball – Opening with a warble and a wash of waves, this track unfolds quickly once Eothen enters the tune. Her performance weaves its way around rolling drums and bent guitar lines, all the while the water samples are still nipping at the heels of the tune. A great solo work real quickly mid-track, offering up a heaviness that pushes the tune beyond modern post-punk spoken word.
Sure Look – When I first heard this song, I swooned. Stearn’s voice begins the tune with this heavenly vocal line, and I would be perfectly fine to let the tune stay here. But, the charm comes in the chorus, with the band punctuating its entirety. Drums roll out, pounding and the vocals try to keep pace, almost stomping the lines “do right by you…” through the speakers. The string arrangements in this tune aren’t too shabby, adding a little texture.
Together We Roll – This is the first tune that doesn’t feature Stearn up front on the vocals upon pressing play. It’s got some psychedelic remnants in there, though it feels more like a darkened poetic reading. Still, Nightshift’s success is their desire to consistently grown into their songs, so the middle half has this more fluid wash of melody and traditional pop sensibility before marching to a close.
S.U.V. – If you were looking for a song that made you feel cool, it’s this one. Something about the opening delivery here just feels like that cool kid in every classic 80s movie, sitting atop the hood of their car while everyone stares in awe. A nice rolling synthetic buzz keeps the tune going, boogieing into continued cool as they switch it up in the middle only to return with the lines “suspicious of the effects of polyamory/with my lovers between me.”
Your Good Self – Up until this moment, the record’s playing in the left-field of the pop stadium near you, but no more. The guitar notes here are a little crisper and angular, though almost trudging in the fashion you might have found on an early Wire LP; this feels like the tune where everyone gets to flex their muscles. Huge drum solo and skronking horns pushing the tune to an explosive close.
Cut – If there was going to be a ballad moment on Homosapien, this is that moment. Stearn carefully delivers her line of “when you cut we bleed” while the bass and guitar maneuver behind her. Drums don’t even make an appearance until just before the 1 minute mark; they work to fill the texture into the track, adding in musical depth to the opening minute, but that being said, the tune still feels like a vessel to show the range and power of Eothen at the helm.
Side Effects – Life With Buildings gets thrown around a lot in folks making allusions to this record, but for me, this was the first tune that I really felt lived in that wheelhouse. It’s all about the rhythm section here; the guitar lines feel like they’re just happy to kind of cut and dance in and out, at least for the first half. Once the song begins to unravel, the band’s musicianship is on full display, taking turns in different moments that shine a light at how tight they must be in order to operate at this level.
Phone – Somewhere in the late 90s, I got handed some tunes that were all about arrangements, and I couldn’t escape. This tune embraces such arrangements, while still feeling edgy and punk rock. Strings work is the perfect accent for the vocals, and as melancholy as this track might feel, it might be my secret favorite. The delivery of the lines “Better off without you/better off with you” just crushes me every time.
Y.T. Tutorial – For some reason I can’t help but feel a bit of a nod to 80s pop rock (I keep thinking Tommy Tutone, but not sure). Still, they don’t hang there too long, letting the song have this sort of climactic moment at the top of the song, but then they joyously roll down the other side of the mountain, mixing in a slightly different vocal and peppy drum beat on the backside. Then back again.
Mellow Baby – This is another track featuring Andrew Doig on the vocals (who I love from his work in Robert Sotelo), and perhaps its his role or just a need for respite, but this is the first track that doesn’t feel wholly punk adjacent; it almost feels like a pastoral folk tune, albeit one set to folks who have a tendency to employ a gritty bit of edginess to their work.
Crush – After a bit of respite, you get the band shuffling back with the snare drum giving the tune just a bit of a wiggle. Guitar lines scratch at the edge of your speakers until they don’t. Momentarily they’ll run at you, but they’ll recede, controlled by Eothen’s begging vocal, asking for someone to “metabolize me.” From there the tune moves into a kind of breakdown with some spoken words just barely audible beneath the texture. Suddenly, synths jump in and all of a sudden there’s this rush of energy thrusting your hands into the air and you punch your way into this crazy emphatic dance! End scene.