We apologize to those who rely on us for a bit of diversion when trying to work from home, but we took a few days off for a road trip. So we now will attempt to make amends by presenting one of our contenders for top albums of 2021. Zoe is the pandemic lockdown creation of Nightshift, an assembly of fine songwriters and performers from various Glasgow bands (some of which we have featured here in the past). The members assembled the songs in their own homes, adding their parts and sending the files on to other members. Despite that unusual approach, the result is a post-punk masterpiece — smooth, cohesive, and consistently intriguing and even surprising.
Very often, even with a good album, some aspects stand out more than others. Sometimes it is the rhythms, sometimes the vocals, sometimes the melodies or guitars. However, in the hands of Nightshift, everything stands out. admittedly, the rhythms hit us first. They are standout earworms all by themselves, and they have a “sticky” quality that prompted a feeling of physical loss when the last song finished. However, the vocals pull you in like an emotional tractor beam and the guitars and keys, while spare, are perfect accents. I particular, the rhythms and vocals combine to create a hypnotic effect. This is post-punk with hear, soul, intelligence and intensity, and a bit of humor. We can’t recommend it enough.
Nightshift are David Capbell, Andrew Doig, Eothen Stearn, Chris White, and Georgia Harris. Zoe is out now in digital, vinyl and CD formats via Trouble In Mind Records.