REVIEW: Nightlife Revel in Disco Fever On New Singles "nightlifetypebeat" And "fallback"
The Baltimore soul-punk trio dropped their highly anticipated follow up to 2021’s new low on Friday, filled to the brim with infectious grooves. The new singles premiered along with a gold-dusted new music video for “fallback,” all marking the band's new era.
These two new tracks are a must-listen to with headphones, as each aspect of the instrumentation is showcased in their production.
“nightlifetypebeat” is the grand opening, leading with intense guitars and drums before dissolving into a glittery falsetto, only to bring back the energy moments later in the first verse with pop and rock style guitars. This opening track exemplifies Nightlife’s various influences, which span from pop, punk and R&B to funk and disco. Yet they are never muddled together in the music, or feel forced. Rather, they each hold their own weight, creating a unique, refreshing new sound; a Nightlife type beat, one could say. A clubby disco interlude leads into the second verse, backdropped by a synth-driven, bright sound which rounds out the song before leading into “fallback.” “fallback” is an angstier follow-up; still maintaining Nightlife’s dance-y appeal, but with heavier guitar and bass at the helm. The guitar and bass blend with Romero’s vocals, making for a rich, booming wall of sound that amplifies the song’s turmoil, along with scattered synths and bit-crushed vocals.
The lyrics add to these two songs’ cohesion, representing two different phases of a relationship: being captivated by a person and enjoying it, then trying to break free from that captivation. “nightlifetypebeat” represents the more hopeful phase, where the person still believes this relationship will work out, with lines such as “we’ll get it right,” and them wanting to change and “find a way out of [their] shell” for the sake of the relationship.
But meanwhile, the other person in this relationship has not even made it official, indicated by the repetition of “say you’re mine.” The optimistic mindset dissipates on “fallback,” as this person now realizes their love interest is keeping them hostage, and they are not receiving much love from them. Yet this other person keeps pulling them back in “ever so slowly,” to the point where the speaker feels “tethered” by past memories of them together.
Nightlife are one of the most exciting bands in today’s scene, with a little something for everyone layered into these new tracks. They elevate and honor each of their musical influences which makes a sound that is uniquely them; both danceable and grungy. Be sure to check out these new singles, along with new low, as they’re sure to be your new summer obsession.
