This one’s for the procrastinators and the slow learners. This one’s for the bungled and the botched, for the fumbled and humbled. This one’s for the late bloomers, and ultimately, Nap Eyes‘ latest full length Snapshot of a Beginner is proof that sometimes, the late bloomers bloom brightest.
Eight years and four albums into it, the artistic arc of Nap Eyes finds itself tracing a line alongside frontman Nigel Chapman’s daily tai chi practice. Those first years and albums are the cold mornings in the park: the measured movements, the joint aches, the self-doubt. With each new release, an incremental and invigorating step forward. And with the end of each album and tour, a return to the beginner’s practice. And now, Snapshot of a Beginner, Nap Eyes’s boldest, most concentrated and most hi-fi album to date, a study of that repeated return and all that it can teach you.
Almost all the songs of Nap Eyes are whittled into their final form from Chapman’s unspooling, 20-minute voice-and-guitar free-writing sessions. Each member — drummer Seamus Dalton; bassist Josh Salter or guitarist Brad Loughead — then plays a crucial role in song development, composing around the idiosyncratic structures and directing the overall sound and feel of the songs. Until now, that final song construction and recording has been mostly done live in a room. But for Snapshot of a Beginner, the band went to The National’s nuevo-legendary upstate NY Long Pond Studio, working with producers Jonathan Low (Big Red Machine, The National) and James Elkington (Steve Gunn, Joan Shelley), the latter of whom also did pre-production arrangement work with the band.
It took Nap Eyes a long time and a long practice to reach this artistic zen, but one gets the feeling throughout Snapshot of a Beginner that this balance is going to hold.
Physical format music purchases from the PoB webstore and Bandcamp include digital downloads when feasible. Some, but not all, pre-2023 vinyl pressings also include a download coupon. For digital preorders and high-resolution digital downloads, please visit our Bandcamp page.
Tracklist
A1. “So Tired” 4:13
A2. “Primordial Soup” 3:38
A3. “Even Though I Can’t Read Your Mind” 3:29
A4. “Mark Zuckerberg” 2:47
A5. “Mystery Calling” 5:04
A6. “Fool Thinking Ways” 4:12
B1. “If You Were In Prison” 2:18
B2. “Real Thoughts” 7:45
B3. “Dark Link” 3:31
B4. “When I Struck Out On My Own” 3:58
B5. “Though I Wish I Could” 4:52
Catalog Number/Release Date
PoB-058 / March 27, 2020
More from Nap Eyes
-
Nap Eyes: The Neon Gate
$9.00 – $35.00Nap Eyes: Demons
$1.00 – $2.00Nap Eyes: Feline Wave Race
$3.00 – $4.00Nap Eyes: Snapshot of a Beginner
FORMAT Videos and Streaming
Acknowledgments
Few songwriters write about malaise with as much charm and empathetic chill as Nigel Chapman. [He] writes with more interrogative passion about his inner life than many songwriters twice his age. More than ever before the band’s instrumental interplay feels like its own thing, restrained, considered, and riveting.
– Aquarium Drunkard
This charming band from Nova Scotia is fronted by Nigel Chapman, who sounds a little like Lou Reed crossed with Richard Thompson and, as that comparison implies, plays a kind of drone-y poker-faced rock ‘n’ roll with folk leanings.
– Rolling Stone
Feels as much a modest masterpiece as Spring Hill Fair or Tigermilk. What sets them apart is the fear and trembling in Nigel Chapman’s reedy monotone and guitarist Brad Loughead, who unleashes the full Verlainian screaming bluebird repertoire.
– Uncut
Masters of subtlety. Nap Eyes have made much ado about meaninglessness with rock ‘n’ roll songs that shake just offbeat and smart lyrics wrapped in bemused ennui.
– NPR Music
Being bad has never felt so good. The real jamming isn’t happening on the fretboards, but in the lyrics.
– Pitchfork
Triangulates the sweet spot between the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Marquee Moon. If that sounds like your thing, I promise that Nap Eyes will be very your thing.
– Uproxx
You may also like…
