L.A trio Night Talks‘ latest single “Shadows On The Run” shows a band that have refined and developed their fun indie pop sound even further. With a mixture of rock guitars and glittery synths, Night Talks is set to be a new favourite for lovers of The 1975 and COIN.
“Shadows On The Run” is full of energy from the get-go with whirling synths and heavily distorted guitars crashing into the introduction. There was clearly a lot of forethought put into the instrumentation, with the panning giving the distinct texture of each instrument its own space. Moreover, the sharp synth that enters right before the first verse gives just enough contrast to the guitars’ fuzz to stop the song from drowning in its own distortion.
Another way that Night Talks prevents this drowning is by stripping back the instrumentation in the verses, leaving only heavily compressed drums and vocals. The compression on the drums and their forward-falling rhythm keeps the excitement of the chorus whilst building anticipation. A guitar solo in the bridge uses less effects than the rhythm guitars to both highlight the solo and give a nice change.
Night Talks’ lyrics read like something out of a film. The title itself, “Shadows On The Run,” sounds like a coming-of-age film title and the lyrics play on this nostalgia. In the chorus, lines such as “I’m not stuck, you’ve been drifting” and “minute by the minute I keep going past my limit” highlight this romanticization of the past, with the verses emphasizing a frustration with someone stuck in the past: “It’s like running at a wall.”
“Shadows On The Run” pulls from both the sparkly and sharp ends of the indie rock genre to create an upbeat party song. Night Talks are expected to take this sound on the road, opening for Couch The Band next month across the US. Tickets can be found here.
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