In the four years since their last fine album, Nap Eyes have done nothing but sharpen their focus. That's a good thing. The wide-ranging genre-hopping that made this band's work so enjoyable is still fueling this 2024 release, though the refinement of that has made this one a bit more consistent. As such, The Neon Gate is full of pleasures both complex and straightforward.
While "Demons" marries Lou Reed-ish vocals up with a deliberately-paced progression of chamber rock forms, the more playful "Dark Mystery Enigma Bird" serves up traces of prog and art pop. Elsewhere, "Feline Wave Race" marries that laconic Lou-y vocal style up with a down-tempo musical underpinning that owes a debt or two to mid-period Yo La Tengo. The result is pretty nice, and there's lots here with a similar appeal on The Neon Gate.
The Neon Gate doesn't have as much musical variety as other Nap Eyes records, but what it does have is a consistency of vibe that makes it a fairly solid record. Bursts of squalling guitar in songs like "Isolation" suggest a debt or two owed to King Crimson or something, but Nap Eyes are not quite that ambitious in terms of showing off their chops. No, Nap Eyes are content to work up a mood that carries a listener to the same place that one journeyed during plays of late Seventies Lou Reed albums, just without the urban squalor.
The Neon Gate by Nap Eyes is out this week on Paradise of Bachelors. More details below.
[Photo: Josh Salter]