Nightshift – Homosapien
Algorithmic filters and a very specific form of nostalgia in the 21st century has obscured the fact that post-punk was always so much more than a morose vocalist and a driving bassline. Regional scenes in the late ’70s saw the rise of iconoclastic weirdos worldwide, playing their instruments the “wrong” way and making agitated art for its own sake—The Raincoats and The Slits, Pylon and The B-52’s, The Pop Group and Au Pairs. The goths, the discopunks, the no wavers all trickled from a similar kind of freedom, but this unprecedented era cut a wide swath, from 4AD to Factory, Rough Trade to Sire.
Glasgow’s Nightshift are the rare contemporary band to capture post-punk in a way that recalls its vibrant, vagabond origins, playful and unposturing, unfettered and endlessly fun. The group’s debut album Zöe introduced the group as a hypnotic and understated group capable of hypnotic dirges and wiry dancefloor grooves alike. In the three years since that album’s release, the group’s lineup has shifted around a bit; drummer Chris White transitioned over to guitar, while Rob Alexander has taken over on drums. And while it’s hard to say whether that shift in instrumental roles was the catalyst, there’s a palpable spark of inspiration throughout sophomore album Homosapien that comes paired with an immediacy that’s joyful and infectious.
Whatever elegance Nightshift might have swapped from their debut in favor of a more celebratory kind of fuel was more than worth the trade. In the loosest of terms, Homosapien is more explicitly pop in its sound, however far from convention it strays. Here, those pop leanings still take the form of a kitchen-sink approach, juxtaposing bass-driven dance-punk on “Side Effects” against a more romantic ballad on the gorgeous, violin-laden “Phone.” And where the upbeat slacker rock of “S.U.V.” finds vocalist Eothen Stearn speaking through a protagonist who fantasizes about living in a big house, “Together We Roll” rides a surfy riff and stabs of synth beamed down from Planet Claire toward a reaffirmation of what they’re capable of as a ride-or-die team: “Stand up tall/together we roll.”
Yet Nightshift have by no means abandoned the grace of their previous release, even if it sometimes is put on hold in favor of a spiky punk moment like “Your Good Self.” Opener “Crystal Ball,” a meditation on grim, post-Brexit uncertainty, ushers in the record with a gorgeous and jangling psychedelic shimmer, which ultimately escalates into a roaring close. “Sure Look” employs more abrasive guitar riffs in service of a simple but lovely melody, and the gothic arpeggios of “Cut” is the rare moment where Nightshift visit the shadow realm of The Cure and Cocteaus, addressing the real harm in shrinking public services to victims of gendered violence in one of their most haunting moments on record.
Nightshift don’t shy away from politics or darker subject matter, but to hem them into either corner is to overlook what’s a work of art that, in just over a half-hour, reflects the messier and more relatable traits of humanity. Homosapien is the unlikely album that finds cohesion in its eclecticism, in part because of the distinctive minimalism and understatement that all of Nightshift’s stylistic turns are filtered through. They capture the spirit of post-punk expression as journey rather than destination, and it’s a blast to hear where they’ve ended up.
Label: Trouble In Mind
Year: 2024
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Nightshift : Homosapien
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