NIGHTLY - WEAR YOUR HEART OUT
Nightly’s polished and meticulously crafted sound places them in the position to be named amongst the best that modern alternative music has to offer - They are the new kids on the block that give the essence that they have been there for years.
‘wear your heart out’, the Nashville outfits second project, captures the band’s ability to create tracks that have the listener returning for more. The 14 track album has a sound for every kind of listener – from the casual car ride playlister to the alternative music aficionado – Nightly have an offering for you. An eclectic synthesis of melodic electric guitar riffs, atmospheric synths and stadium-esque drum compositions ‘wear your heart out’ is front-footed in its approach, not hold anything back from the start until the closing ‘love somebody (Reprise)’.
Nightly’s music rings with nostalgia – it brings a sense of a distant past being re-explored in the present moment created by the warmth of carefully selected instrumentation and the lead vocalist Jonathan Capeci’s heart-breaking delivery. Tracks ‘the feeling’ and ‘like I do’ showcase the vocalists ability to drive songs forward utilising his own voice as an instrument, ebbing and flowing throughout emotions effortlessly to deliver stellar performances that border on the edge of rockstar status. Whilst tracks ‘radiohead’ and ‘navy blue’ allow for the production and instrumentation to shine forth – compositions that compliment elements of early 80s indie-rock percussion and modern song-writing to produce timeless pieces that transcend the concept of a musical era.
The album is cohesive, Nightly are able to create their own space in the over-saturated world of digital music, their sound is unique to them – herein lies a crucial pitfall. ‘wear your heart out’ is less than an hour long and after extensive listening, tracks begin to blend into one generalised sound making distinguishing between the differences and nuances of the fourteen tracks a challenge. It may leave you wondering where one tracks ends and another begins. Tracks ‘dry eyes’ and ‘naked’ are left to drown in a sea of filler songs due to their similarity to nine tracks that came before – as standalone tracks, they still hold the special something that Nightly are able to inject into all their songs, however as part of a cohesive project they fall victim to same-ness.
Nightly are an exciting band that look ready to take-on the alternative music scene and rule their kingdom – ‘wear your heart out’ proves exactly that. Their soundscape is so distinct and creative it becomes hard to fathom that this project is only their second album – the confidence exuded through the song-writing and delivery, the crisp mix and master and the ability to produce an entire eccentric album without a single feature is the stuff of music legends. Yet, they still have a journey to go along to reach the heights that they wish to surmount – ‘wear your heart out’ is a step in the right direction and music fans should keep their eyes on Nightly’s bright future.
Ramy Abou-Setta
★★★☆☆