Against my better instincts, given my past rantings against the bands of the “Post Punk” phase [you know the ones, they all sound a bit like Gary Newman/Duran Duran/Joy Division/The Smiths/The Cure (delete as appropriate)] I simply must exclaim thus: COR BLIMEY I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS BAND!
Don’t worry folks, I’m sat here eating my hat, and it’s going down fine with a serving of humble pie for dessert.
New York-based NIGHTMARE OF YOU - despite their EMO-name and their Libertines/Smiths/everything-else-sceney sound - are completely joyful, their songs are deliciously poppy, with a nice little twist of Buddy Holly on top of their elated indie-bop. Little wonder they're about to embark on tour with cherry popsters The Delays.
Brandon Reilly’s vocals are a cross between Billy Joe (Green Day) and Brandon Flowers (The Killers), a perfect clarion call to the joys and melodrama of teenage-hood: My Name Is Trouble, is a great example - “I want to kiss you on the mouth and tell you/I’m you’re your biggest fan.” Awwww, enough to give anyone butterflies in the stomach.
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As a band, they’ve got all the right components: the lyrics are witty and confessional without being too self-indulgent, with song titles such as “Ode To Serotonin” and “I Want To Be Buried In Your Back Yard”. There’s even a trad. country ballad “Marry Me” that manages to squeeze in some Smiths musical references, it’s lovely stuff that manages to showcase the eccentric variation that this band are obviously capable of. And, check this out, the tunes aren’t all in D-minor [gasp, cough, splutter...].
Musically, they’re not coming up with anything light-years away from anyone else at the moment, but who needs Avant-Garde when you have great hooky indie pop like this? I’m going to revel in it, these chaps clearly have enough charisma and charm to stand out from the Trilby-hatted crowd by far.
(www.nightmareofyou.com)
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