Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Skeleton Tree
Bad Seed LTD. (2016)
When it was announced that Nick Cave was releasing a new album Skeleton Tree to accompany the release of his documentary One More Time With Feeling, it felt decidedly unnatural for a couple of reasons – first and foremost, marketing tie-ins don’t really come to mind, when it comes to an artist like Cave. And two, it was all coming … Read more
Nick Jaina
Primary Perception
Fluff & Gravy Records (2013)
Nick Jaina added a full length album to an already impressive and diverse portfolio of sound in April of this year. Primary Perception joined a repertoire of 8 albums (available on bandcamp), multiple scores for theater, dance, and film, and a collection of prose and poetry. Taking into account his many diverse talents and works,Primary Perception is surprisingly focused and … Read more
Nick JD Hodgson
Tell Your Friends
Prediction Records (2018)
Erstwhile Kaiser Chief Nick Hodgson has spent the past five years penning songs for the likes of Mark Ronson and Shirley Bassey, basking in being out of the limelight and no longer having to endure a punishing touring schedule as part of one of the UK’s most successful indie bands. The 40-year-old spent much of his 20s and 30s perched … Read more
Nicole Atkins
Bleeding Diamonds
Columbia (2006)
What is it with the recent explosion of male singer/songwriters? Almost like buses, none show up for ages and then all of a sudden a billion swarm you and the one that everyone jumps onboard turns out to be James Blunt. And where have all the female singer/songwriters gone? It seems that when there is a rise in one sex … Read more
Niecy Blues
Exit Simulation
Kranky (2023)
The allure of ambient music and its applications in pop structures has always been an important topic for Niecy Blues. It has been a conjunction that the artist has been playing with on shorter releases, in both the 2020 EP CRY and the 2021 single Bones Become The Trees. But, it is with this full-length in Exit Simulation, that Blues … Read more
Night Birds
Born To Die In Suburbia
Grave Mistake (2013)
Releasing the 7” teaser Maimed for the Masses certainly helped introduce the increasingly prominent surf guitar in Night Birds. Still, the opener “Escape from New York” is a holy shit moment as it perfectly blends surf lines with punk aggression. After their debut, The Other Side of Darkness, I was wondering just how far the band could take their sound … Read more
Night Birds
Mutiny at Muscle Beach
Fat Wreck Chords (2015)
It’s getting tough to find new things to say about Night Birds. They’re as great as ever with third LP Mutiny at Muscle Beach, it’s just that the sound hasn’t changed all that dramatically from day one. Album #3 is supposed to be when they go all avant on us.Their career has filled out nicely, with textural differences and a … Read more
Night Birds
Roll Credits
Fat Wreck Chords (2018)
Roll Credits is an 8-song “mini-album” homage to the classics. Night Birds--the now veteran band of 10 years--says it was made thinking of short-play classics like Negative Approach’s Tied Down and Minor Threat’s Out of Step. Short, fast, loud.It’s a good starting point for their approach, but first, more about the release. In addition to being a 12” EP, Fat … Read more
Night Birds
The Other Side Of Darkness
Grave Mistake (2011)
The hype had been building for Night Birds’ debut. They’ve released three 7”s and the band, feature ex-members of The Ergs!, Hunchback, and Psyched to Die, and put on a great show at Fest 9 in Gainesville. When that much hype builds, often it comes tumbling back to earth when the actual product is released. Not so for The Other … Read more
Night Court
$hit Machine
Recess (2024)
Forget all the stereotypes about punk. Night Court are a punk band, but they aren’t nihilistic or aggressive. Instead, they’re scrappy and DIY and -- while they are certainly cynical at times -- they carry an air of positivity. It’s a well-defined sound on the band’s fourth LP, with 17 bouncy songs to singalong to. “Human Torch” is a fitting … Read more
Night Court
Humans!
Debt Offensive, Snappy Little Numbers (2023)
What’s the difference between overabundance and starvation? Between drowning and dehydration? Between far too much and not enough? What’s the difference, then, between everyone else and Night Court? A lo-fi punk trio out of Vancouver, Night Court released their third album, Humans!, June 9th on Snappy Little Numbers and Debt Offensive Records. While their sound may have slightly changed since … Read more
Night Court
Nervous Birds! Too
Debt Offensive, Snappy Little Numbers Quality Audio Recordings (2022)
Night Court may have a silly name, but the band feels sincere and (mostly) serious. Rooted in garage-punk, the sounds are familiar in form but each track on this 12-song record gives a different energy. Generally speaking, it’s melodic and positive punk with a lo-fi DIY vibe. There are elements of the old Plan-It-X sound but with a little more … Read more
Night Jobs
Never Happener EP
Independent (2022)
I was introduced to Night Jobs with The Shape of Bummers To Come tape. I liked it overall, but I did feel there was room from growth. I mean, there always is…but I digress. The band is back in 2022 with the new 7”, Never Happener, featuring four new songs. And I do hear that “growth.” Sure, Night Jobs play … Read more
Night Jobs
Shop Dog EP
Independent (2024)
Can a band sound too personal? Too local? These are my burning questions as I break down the latest EP from Night Jobs of Minneapolis. The lyrics of these five songs are highly personal, from adopting pets to local transit routes to calling out people, by name, who have caused strife. They say to write what you know, and Night … Read more
Night Jobs
The Shape of Bummers To Come
Independent (2020)
The world needs more 5-song EPs. Why? Because this is a record, not a single with a b-side. The Shape of Bummers To Come has a united vibe from start to finish and it gives a real feeling of seeing a band instead of feeling like an appetizer.Sticking with that theme a little bit, and perhaps because I miss live … Read more
Nightgaun
Absurdity Of Meaning
Primitive Future (2011)
There are a number of adjectives that would accurately describe Tempe, AZ’s Nightgaun—noisy, filthy, retching, etc.—but perhaps none more fitting than “raw.” Continuing the chiropteran-themed imagery first displayed on their impressive self-titled 7” debut, the cover art for Absurdity of Meaning— a crude depiction of a bat being stabbed through the sternum with a switchblade—provides a strong indication of the … Read more
Nightmarathons
Hidden Vigorish
A-F (2022)
Nightmarathons released Missing Parts back in 2019, but I hadn’t heard anything about the group in some time. On October 26, they surprise released Hidden Vigorish, their second LP. It follows the trajectory of their first album, but this time around I see a little more integration of dual vocals and some post-hardcore elements underneath the surface. And I probably … Read more
Nightmarathons
Missing Parts
A-F (2019)
Nightmarathons are a tough band to pin down. Sure, they fit somewhere under that ever-widening punk umbrella, but it pulls from different areas without fitting neatly into any single substyle. To make a blanket statement, I’d say its heavily influenced by ‘00s punk across the board, with different singers who take the songs in different directions. There’s some first wave … Read more
