The Wingdale Community
Singers
Night, Sleep, Death
A record review by Nat
Bourgon
Night, Sleep, Death plays as an unflinching, candid testimony to the
double entendre of human life. The record is as triumphant as it is tragic, paralleling
the duality of life itself.
Night, Sleep, Death is buoyed by its incessant ability to elicit emotive response. The songs often carry a conflicting yet strangely complimentary persona. This is an animated, lively and purposeful sounding record at even its most melancholic, near hopeless stages. Notice the deliberate choice of language: “near hopeless.” Night, Sleep, Death sagely refuses to fully extinguish hope. This ‘never-say-never’ position with regards to hope solidifies the humanity of the record. It divulges to us that hope can find us in even the most confounding, astonishing ways. Mid record standout “Happy Ending” is a disarming curveball. Adopting a narrative like structure, it comes across like a four minute prayer with a sullen lyrical tone. Throbbing percussion aligns with melodically rich acoustic guitar immaculately to create an energetic, leaping musical charisma.
The hope here comes in the form of Hannah Marcus’s vocalizations, which bolster the record considerably. She sounds downright unnerved and spooked, yet there is simultaneously a steady warmth and sincerity to her deep, mesmerizing voice that conveys that flicker of hope. Every so often, especially on the artful folky opener “So What (Andy’s Lament)” that builds to a stunning climax of near operatic vocal harmonies, her alto voice soars up to the higher end of her range, tugging at heart strings and firmly establishing herself as one of the most potent, and compelling vocalists working today.
Night, Sleep, Death is a journey where the off course is not counted out. It is a place where the astray is not deemed lost. The record’s account of life occurrences as impermanent is equally fear inducing as it is comforting. A yearning for connection, togetherness and love permeates through these tracks, even at moments when connection, togetherness and love ultimately don’t prevail.
The songs on Night, Sleep, Death bustle with inventive, nuanced sonic passages, riveting, expressive lyricism and an adherence to freedom and open mindedness. The record veers swiftly yet cohesively from a celebratory vibe to a crushing ambience, often within the confines of an individual song.
Finale “A Sweeter Way To Say Goodbye” is as devastating and beautiful as any love song you’ll hear this year. The song at once evokes love’s pain and pleasures, with an exquisitely intimate, vulnerable, heartfelt climate. It is an impeccable capper to an inspiring, sublime record that captures and embraces the satisfying imperfection of what it means to be human with unabashed honesty while continuing to cling to that glimmer of hope without fail.
Night, Sleep, Death is buoyed by its incessant ability to elicit emotive response. The songs often carry a conflicting yet strangely complimentary persona. This is an animated, lively and purposeful sounding record at even its most melancholic, near hopeless stages. Notice the deliberate choice of language: “near hopeless.” Night, Sleep, Death sagely refuses to fully extinguish hope. This ‘never-say-never’ position with regards to hope solidifies the humanity of the record. It divulges to us that hope can find us in even the most confounding, astonishing ways. Mid record standout “Happy Ending” is a disarming curveball. Adopting a narrative like structure, it comes across like a four minute prayer with a sullen lyrical tone. Throbbing percussion aligns with melodically rich acoustic guitar immaculately to create an energetic, leaping musical charisma.
The hope here comes in the form of Hannah Marcus’s vocalizations, which bolster the record considerably. She sounds downright unnerved and spooked, yet there is simultaneously a steady warmth and sincerity to her deep, mesmerizing voice that conveys that flicker of hope. Every so often, especially on the artful folky opener “So What (Andy’s Lament)” that builds to a stunning climax of near operatic vocal harmonies, her alto voice soars up to the higher end of her range, tugging at heart strings and firmly establishing herself as one of the most potent, and compelling vocalists working today.
Night, Sleep, Death is a journey where the off course is not counted out. It is a place where the astray is not deemed lost. The record’s account of life occurrences as impermanent is equally fear inducing as it is comforting. A yearning for connection, togetherness and love permeates through these tracks, even at moments when connection, togetherness and love ultimately don’t prevail.
The songs on Night, Sleep, Death bustle with inventive, nuanced sonic passages, riveting, expressive lyricism and an adherence to freedom and open mindedness. The record veers swiftly yet cohesively from a celebratory vibe to a crushing ambience, often within the confines of an individual song.
Finale “A Sweeter Way To Say Goodbye” is as devastating and beautiful as any love song you’ll hear this year. The song at once evokes love’s pain and pleasures, with an exquisitely intimate, vulnerable, heartfelt climate. It is an impeccable capper to an inspiring, sublime record that captures and embraces the satisfying imperfection of what it means to be human with unabashed honesty while continuing to cling to that glimmer of hope without fail.
