This weeks ‘song of the week’ is a LGHTNNG double bill-Sharks/ Run:
Sharks.

Sharks:

A washed out arpeggio synth falling upwards like gravity in reverse, simultaneously pulling you further into the song as it tries to escape. A muted guitar riff is layered on top of the arp, the two parts are at war with one another creating the friction that propels the song forwards. A voice enters to negotiate the space with a fifty-fifty give and take, push and pull. It appears, oddly, beautifully, cutting its way through the centre of the track. The voice is vague-familiar-alien, romantic, tragic. Deliberately moody.  A voice you’re sure you’ve heard before.
This is how it sounds to walk straight through the evening, hoping not to be spotted, on the edge of something, circling the room. Sharks features four different melody sections, all chorus worthy and equally compelling so that there is always something new, always movement. ‘We move like sharks.’
 
Run:

Giving a vivid warm saturated unrelenting background to contend with the female voice seems to be escaping from a fog, a false mist pumping from a nightclub machine, creating an invisible oblivion. Run is intrigued by the possibility of deliberately capturing a frozen moment in time, a couple of decades behind us. A wonderful nostalgia is created, a vivid anticipation, then some startled reality followed by the illusion of loss, a melancholia hangs over the haunted voice. Once more the melody seems into your mind and will cast a shadow over it for the days to come. For a second there is a resemblance of something, a long time ago now, like everything else. Where’ve you been all your life? A girl’s voice as insubstantial as condensation that sits on the window ledge. Scraping across the edges of the song. Taken to the point of near-ecstasy and unconsciousness abstraction that is a wipe out.
 
LGHTNNG – Sharks/ Run

Released on October 16th, ‘Nights change days’ is the brand new EP from LGHTNNG and boy are we super psyched that NRW Records have the pleasure of releasing this one.

Hailing from Groningen in the Netherlands, LGHTNNG have quickly established themselves within the retro community with one of the strongest debut’s I’ve heard this year. So often in our wonderful scene, it takes artists an EP or two to really figure out in which direction they’re heading in and the sound is often developed and crafted over a number of years. What’s rad about ‘Nights change days’ is that it revels in its own self awareness and confidence, whilst the songs come together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

The EP opens with the superbly laid back and gorgeous, ‘Sad Humming’, instantly transporting us into a nocturnal daze. Doortje’s vocals are absolutely beautiful and her sweet tones deliver melancholic lyrics with ease and conviction. Moving into ‘Desert Kings’ we are faced with a brilliant balance of music and vocals, it beats as one heart and it conjures imagery like some kind of lucid dream. ‘Loneliness’ is soulful and the lyrics are poetic, it oozes maturity and it stands up against anything that Chvrches have released in the passed year. This song quickly became a instant favourite of mine and I did replay it on numerous occasions, its probably best I not divulge the exact total. By the time the final two tracks play out, ‘Sharks’ and ‘One night away’ it becomes clearly evident that what you’ve heard is an insanely strong EP and the glimpses of guitar and piano add extra depth to the clear and direct synth sound. Nothing really feels overdone here and the benevolent spirit of the songs remain from start to finish.

Although I don’t dispute there being deep set emotions at the core of this record, Its sugary undertones help make it feel very accessible and I feel ‘Nights change days’ could really capture the hearts and minds of not just fans of the retro scene, but a wider pop audience too. For those of you who haven’t had time to check this one out yet, I urge you not to waste another minute without it.