When The Movielife split up, I guess it would have been the obvious move to form bands that may sound similar. Or at least be influenced by that kind of sound. Maybe Vinnie Caruana took the easy way out with I am the Avalanche, a band with its roots firmly encased in his former band’s sound. This is not the story for Brandon Reilly, who has managed to not only break The Movielife‘s shackles, but pretty much re-write the rulebook on what to do when starting a new band. The two groups couldn’t be further apart – and with the indie-rock NOY quite possibly 2006’s next big thing, it may be a wise career move.
Nightmare of You are steeped in 80s English indie. The vocals are very Morrissey; the sound very much influenced by The Smiths. There are so many melodies and harmonies here it’s obvious the music press will lap this up. At times they even sound like a less synthy The Killers or even a more guitar-based Duran Duran. I could list 80s bands forever and still be close to the mark, but I’m sure you get the picture. Tracks like ‘Ode to Serotonin’ are future classics, even if they are so heavily borrowed from the past.
‘I Want To Be Buried In Your Backyard’ is surely a future single, while the softly, softly approach also works well on ‘Heaven Runs On Oil’. The fact is that Nightmare of You are more like a beautiful dream than their name would suggest; they’re different and a really classic throwback to those who lived through the 80s and remember it for being fun rather than the fashion disaster it actually was. Retro will always be cool, but Nightmare of You could quite easily make it even cooler…
East/West
Paul