Night Idea, the Richmond indie post-rockers who are one of the many bands included in RVA’s Subterranea Collective, have just released their second record, Paths. The band spent two years on Paths, the follow-up to their first album, Ocho The Cat, released back in October of 2011.
Night Idea, the Richmond indie post-rockers who are one of the many bands included in RVA’s Subterranea Collective, have just released their second record, Paths. The band spent two years on Paths, the follow-up to their first album, Ocho The Cat, released back in October of 2011. Paths is currently available for download from Night Idea’s Bandcamp page for $5, while Ocho the Cat remains available on Bandcamp as a pay-what-you-want download.
The band’s new album picks up where they left off on their last record. Rich, expansive soundscapes abound on the new six song LP. Dreamy, introspective, and captivating, there is so much that be taken from the band’s sound. There are a ton of influences that are heard on the record, amongst them being jazz, prog, and indie music. The songs are structured in such a way that every instrument and vocal really stands out. The thick 6-string bass grooves, odd time signatures, jazzy guitar solos, and crooning vocals that soar above the instrumentation contribute a lot of texture to the band’s sound.
Paths was recorded with Bryan Walthall at Sound of Music here in Richmond, where other notable local acts such as Lamb of God and Strike Anywhere have also recorded. The production on Paths is just as impressive as the band’s performance. Every precise stick hit is noticeable, the low end really holds everything up, and you can hear every note in all of the perfectly executed guitar solos. The vocals are also so well placed in the mix, sometimes being whispery and soft in the quieter parts of songs and then being just there enough when the band reaches the louder dynamic they posses on certain songs. Everything comes across beautifully loud and clear.
Night Idea was recently featured on the public access television music show Aux Send, where they performed a few songs and gave an interview. Performances of the songs “Do Not” and “Ocho,” from Ocho The Cat, and “Find A Way,” from Paths, on the program showcase how talented the band is. Watching their Aux Send episode, you can tell that the members of Night Idea are true musicians. Check it out here.
Photo by Stephen Eldred
Being part of the Subterranea Collective, a group of artists and musicians here in Richmond, Night Idea are embedded here in the Richmond music scene and have managed to have success in winning fans from the various music scenes here in the city, “There’s a ton of bands that we’ve been playing with. It’s a really diverse crowd, we play with really heavy bands, we play with folk bands, and almost everything,” said guitarist Reid LaPierre in their interview on Aux Send.
The band admits in their interview on Aux Send to having struggled at first finding their niche in the Richmond music scene, but the crossover appeal they have certainly makes them accessible to so many different crowds. The band is also very supportive of the bands they play with and the music scene here in Richmond. “We’re sort of part of a scene that’s coming up where there’s a lot of really cool bands from Richmond,” said drummer Ethan Johnstone. “we’ve found this kind of scene with friends and a lot of people playing music and there’s just a lot of original bands and we’re just trying to spread that to as many people as we can.”
Night Idea currently has no shows booked in the Richmond area, but you can catch them at the Rock n Roll Hotel in Washington D.C. on Friday, June 21 when they play Kid Architect’s record release show. Keep up with the band on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Night-Idea/123250694395589
