by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
It’s safe to say that Night Idea sound like a band out of time. Out this time, out of any time. The Richmond based band have carved their own path in the cosmic dust, creating a sound that could be described as timeless, the comfort of the past, the promise of the future. It’s hard to believe that it’s seven years since the band released Riverless, but the year’s haven’t gone idly by and the once core quartet of the band (Carter Burton, Reid LaPierre, Ethan Johnstone, Joey Anderson) has expanded into a sextet, now including multi-instrumentalists Reggie Pace (trombone, percussion, vocals) and Reyna Pannell (keys, violin, vocals). New textures abound on the band’s upcoming album, Rocky Coast. Their fourth full length hasn’t strayed from their unique sonic landscape, a mix of visionary prog rock, blustery psych, and folk warmth, but it’s expanded their capabilities, the kaleidoscopic effect of their sound grows ever more surrealist. Night Idea’s music is smooth and carefully constructed and yet they eschew any sense of sterility or over-production. They’re a DIY band at heart, and they make grandiose music that feels innate and gentle, a triumphant sleight of hand.
“Rocky Coast,” the album’s title track and lead single, is full of enchanting disorientation, feeling both fantastically and delightfully grounded. With nearly every member of the band woven into the spacial harmonies, Night Idea slink between progressive dirges and wistful expanses. It’s utterly stunning with a sense of dazzling control, a mirage of layered orchestral art rock that swarms and swoons like the two headed goblin offspring of King Crimson and Wilco. The video, conceived, animated, and directed by Matt Carr Jr. hones right in on that sense of epic wanderlust, with an incredible video game like splendor that feels pulled straight from the Square Enix catalog. A genuinely incredible video that should probably be premiering on Toonami rather than Post-Trash, the colossal surge of the clip fits the track to a tee, gorgeous and gargantuan, brilliant but humble.
Rocky Coast is out October 22nd via Ossein Records.