Baltimore-based band Night Walks enamor with a suave, synth-touched rock sound on the Sidelines EP. This two-track offering features the band’s first single, “Night Walks,” alongside the track “Rather Hide.” The former struts a driving late-night rock immersion, with shades of The War on Drugs, while “Rather Hide” recalls a ’70s spirit in its grooving, laid-back enamoring.
The EP’s title track builds with patient momentum, reflecting on “a few dark moments here and there,” and the navigation of fear/uncertainty. The band note the single being “born through a haze of depression, health scares, and the trials of early parenthood,” — and that sense of weary concern, and eventual confidence upon the synth-laden shimmer, makes for a wholly compelling production. The hypnotic sound develops into a more impassioned “on the sidelines,” vocal expression at mid-point, fondly reminiscent of The War on Drugs.
Also fit for late-night listening with its twangy guitars and mellow keys, “Rather Hide” ruminates on there being “no place to go.” The refrain hits hard amidst the jangling guitars and twinkling keys, again emphasizing the project’s engaging knack for debonair contemplation and energetic rock bursts alike. Night Walks showcase a stellar sound throughout the Sidelines EP.
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of September 2023’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup, as part of the artist’s promotional campaign.
