Robyn tells us all about the hotly anticipated debut album from indie-pop Scousers The Night Café.
The Night Café released their debut album last week – 0151. Considering this is the first album from the indie-pop band, they’ve already made quite the name for themselves by playing numerous festivals and releasing a number of singles prior to this. The album is an interesting one; with 18 songs, it is rather long. However, four tracks from the album are musical interludes – for someone with the attention span of a gnat like me, it gives time to regroup and get distracted before settling back into the soundtrack. Normally, I really struggle to listen to an album all the way through, but on this occasion my attention was kept throughout and I was thoroughly entertained and kept calm despite being on a horrendous flight.
0151 has a definite fluidity about it; if I didn’t check which track was playing, I was unsure of when one song ended, and another began. Whilst this made some songs feel pretty similar, this effect was only felt through the fades and intros, which seemed necessary as the album then feels as if it is one complete narrative. We also see some of their older, recognisable songs mixed in with a number of new tunes. Whilst I personally continue to have a soft spot for the songs I already knew – Mixed Signals and Strange Clothes – the new tracks are pretty good too.
'Normally, I really struggle to listen to an album all the way through, but on this occasion my attention was kept throughout.'
I Know (I’m Sure) is one of the best on the album, being super chill and laid back. This acts as an almost warm up to the following track, Addicted, which is more upbeat with toe-tapping drumbeats. Their most recent single, Mixed Signals, is the penultimate track on the album and undoubtedly the most well-known song by The Night Café – a true fan favourite and the kind of classic high energy indie banger you’d expect to hear on a Wednesday night at The Bodega.
Typically with indie-pop, it’s beginning to sound a bit ‘samey’; there are very few bands that I would be unable to make a direct comparison to another group within the genre. The market is saturated with boy bands, so I assumed 0151 was going to be another album that sounds the same as the rest. Whilst to some extent they do sound like your classic indie-pop group, there was something extra – the drumbeats had me tapping along and it was a truly enjoyable listen.
'[Mixed Signals] is a true fan favourite and the kind of classic high energy indie banger you’d expect to hear on a Wednesday night at The Bodega.'
This won’t be the last we hear of The Night Café; with a debut album as strong as this, they have a bright future ahead of them – particularly as they fit into the ever-popular genre of indie-pop whilst maintaining their own unique flare.
@robswalford on Twitter.
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