NAP EYES - I'm Bad Now
Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at 12:26PM
soundscapes

"Nap Eyes are still a fairly new group, so they are still developing quite dramatically with each subsequent release. Overall though, the group has a calling card, and that would be boxed-in rock rhythms similar to the Velvet Underground, the Feelies, or the Strokes. Their debut, Whine of the Mystics, was more of a rave-up, often taking the faster, more aggressive side of their style, even closing out with a seven-minute motoric-driven chugger called, "No Fear of Hellfire". Their follow-up, Thought Rock Fish Scale, slowed it all down, throwing more focus on the nasally-spoken and meandering thoughts of Chapman. It was critically loved, but can be a bit of a snooze if slow strums and languid grooves don't excite your pleasure centers.

I'm Bad Now finds Nap Eyes somewhere in between their two former releases. The album starts out seering with "Everytime the Feeling" evoking annoyance and clenched teeth with aggressively down-strummed chords and Chapman nearly spitting his words at us. "I'm Bad" continues the same trajectory but goes one step further: Chapman calls the song's subject 'dumb' and abruptly follows it up with a dual guitar solo seriously reminiscent of Zuma-era Neil Young and Crazy Horse. It's quite the kick in the pants coming from a band named after feeling sleepy. There's a few more aggressive tracks, but mostly the album relaxes dramatically after the first third, all the way to the closing track, "Boats Appear", being just a few acoustic guitars and Chapman speak-singing like Lou Reed on "Pale Blue Eyes"." - Popmatters

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