NERVES JUNIOR

As Bright

As Your Night Light
sanoBLAST! Records

As Bright As Your Night Light is the debut album from Kentucky based band Nerves Junior and it comes with some pretty serious hype. Comparisons to juggernaut acts like Radiohead do nothing but raise expectations very high. Thankfully Night Light mostly lives up to its lofty praises.
Opener Champagne & Peaches is sonically soothing with vocals and a lead guitar that fulfil its reputation and comparisons. Building up with the rising sound of an effects laden guitar, it’s a sound familiar yet at the same time completely original. The lead guitarist is the most obvious Radiohead influence with a sound laden with effects and a harsh attack, like Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood.
The eponymous track on the album is a brilliantly catchy tune that nicely sums up the sound of the band, with a looping, crashing drum beat and a seriously infectious chorus. Lo-fi electronic keys buzz out as simple a melody as you can get while a sleazy bass line pushes the whole thing forward.
But that is where Night Light draws its appeal. While at times it shares similarities with electronic music, it has enough gnashing guitar parts for people who usually find that sort of music boring. It’s that mashing of genres that makes Night Light a hard album to pin down, or categorise.
Bursting with fresh energy and creativity, Night Light is an impressive debut not with out its flaws. But that’s only because the parts that shine, shine so well.

_TOM VARIAN