Review Summary: light, dynamic and rarely ever dramatic
We
enter the flux through a stream of distorted ambiance, before its layers meld into one and turn into static. Then, a fast semi-acoustic track takes shape. We’re getting started.
portals//polarities review, take one
Night Tapes surfaced in London by the end of the last decade, and 6 years after their debut EP
Dream Forever In Glorious Stereo they put out their first long player. Suffice to say, it is lovely. The drums are punchy, providing energy that carries on through all the mood changes of the record. The synths and guitars usually blend together and while they prove really engaging when they untangle, their synergies create a beautiful atmosphere as well. The vocals are soothing, though the predominant female parts might come as a bit of a turnoff. Iiris has this sort of specific, childlike voice that not all may like, but that works great with the impeccable sense of melody present on here. I think it’s also worth noting how different her breathier singing in Night Tapes is to her solo (electro)pop output from early 2010’s.
The quality of Night Tapes that speaks to me the most is how natural their music sounds. After all, the band started as three housemates spending their evenings on jamming together, and it certainly feels like that.
portals//polarities is light, dynamic and rarely ever dramatic. After the opening track, the listener is graced with one endearing cut after another.
television puts focus on bass guitar, fleshing out its surrounding, deep tone against electronic parts straight from the turn of the century.
swordsman brings about a new sort of dynamic, building upon bouncy rhythms with sort of an 80’s rock ballad vibe and a guitar riff that inescapably reminds me of Whitesnake’s hit
Is This Love. On the opposite end of the record,
patience brings together a house rhythm and extensive use of ethereal synths,
storm sounds like something that could be pulled from the depths of demoscene and
wayfarer closes the tracklist on a funky note. In many ways, the band was moving into new places with this album. Not only by exploring different styles, but also in a literal sense – they started creating
portals//polarities during their first tour in the U.S., outside their normal working environment of London.
But there is one song here that stands out more than any other. Hearing
helix for the first time late at night was a special experience. It opens with a warm guitar riff atop intensifying electronics, which soon take over as the track erupts. The vocals sit at their melodic peak and are beautifully layered, taking turns with chilling synths as the focal point before the warm guitar lead returns for the outro – the one and only fade-out on the entire record.
helix sees
portals//polarities at its most dramatic and pushes this direction as finely as humanly possible. It feels like driving after dark, alone with your thoughts between obscured spaces and passing lights.
Dream pop isn’t a genre I listen to particularly often, but when I do, I tend to find gems. What Night Tapes did on
portals//polarities is hard not to appreciate and I could keep on picking it apart, but that would miss the point. It’s supposed to be dreamy after all, and dreams aren’t about sharp contours. What makes a good album in this style is the flow. All is blurred and you may not remember the details by the time it’s over, but like a good dream, it makes you want to rewind.
