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Nightmare Of You

Nightmare Of You
2005
EastWest / Bevonshire

Nightmare Of You - Nightmare Of You (Cover Artwork)

Review by: Brian
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Published on September 13th 2005

Back when I wrote the review for Action Action's Don't Cut Your Fabric To This Year's Fashion, I began it with a bit of a look on the post-punk trend that had taken over the mainstream that year. Rightfully so, my clichéd slant on it was called out in the comments section with one particularly bold fellow referring to the intro as journalistic laziness, and this was true; I was admittedly relying on well-known information anyone with access to an issue of Rolling Stone could read up on. While Action Action certainly fit into the mold I'd presented at the time, they don't quite conform to the cavity slowly being secretively infiltrated by a number of mates in their subgenre. Sure, there are admittedly a vast number of current acts drawing upon the post-punk / alternative pop/rock of the 80's, but with one glaring adjournment to the former's credit: Musically, it's pretty sunny. Albums like Franz Ferdinand's self-titled record and Hot Hot Heat's last two efforts draw upon Interpol / Joy Division and the Cure respectively, no doubt, but those influences in particular were famous for their astonishing moodiness and captivating way of channeling depression at its truest, most raw form. What they didn't know, however, was that there was a small flood of bands that would take their sound 20 some odd years later and alter it from bleak spheres to sheer musical cheerfulness. Hot Fuss and Franz Ferdinand are fun. HHH's Elevator sounds happy. It's albums like these and Nightmare Of You's self-titled debut full-length that are sorely pushing the point that an alterior mood is rightfully helping prevent the dismissal of an entire movement as straight nostalgic rehashing.

Nearly immediately after Long Island's pop-punk stalwarts the MovieLife called it quits in the fall of 2003, talk of a new project from guitarist Brandon Reilly broke. The project, Nightmare Of You, was one that departed far from the melodicore-inspired stylings of his former band, instead drawing upon a variety of Britsh indie acts from the 80's including Morrissey and the Smiths, the Cure, and Echo & The Bunnymen. Hell, I'm sure it's no coincedence the band's name is also some of the first words sung in the Cure's "Kyoto Song." It's Reilly's first endeavor into vocally fronting a band, and it's a superb job he does. Sure, it's a rare moment when we don't hear a soothingly English croon that's obviously heavily influenced by Morrissey (Reilly even refers to a certain household object as a "telly" in the closing song), but what Reilly does, he does it well.

An expected juxtaposition is presented here with Reilly's relatively dark songwriting and the aforementioned musically upbeat vibe of the record. "Why Am I Always Right?" sounds sickly chipper with its passage of "and as you slept away the day in my bedroom / I found a criminal use for your pillow / I love you terribly, I swear that this is true / but I just can't stop my hands from smothering you;" luckily, this murder scene seems more tasteful when realized against the record as one of few violent occurrences, and its vague narration proves the first-person could be either gender, preventing potential labels of misogyny. It's a fantastic track altogether, with Reilly even employing Morrissey's technique of abruptly transitioning to brushy acoustics at the chorus. "Ode To Serontin" is a great, bouncy gallop of a track. "My Name Is Trouble" and the slow-paced "Marry Me" prove the band's already carrying themselves with a bit of ambition to branch out. The former is a bit kitschy in its new wave, almost club beats, but its Postal Service-esque blips at the bridge following a Faint-like shake is a nicely dancey break in the record for the anxious hipsters, while the latter clangs with a pure twang and country guitars, and somehow, even with Reilly sticking to his more dramatic vocal guns and thus choosing to forgo the requisite honky tonk drawl, it works. Although he can get a bit overzealous at select points, like his downright laughable velociraptor screech in the short bridge of "The Studded Cinctures," his style's well-expressed.

Perhaps the one personal issue that Nightmare Of You hides is that any demo the band had previously posted online -- and there are certainly a handful -- is better than its finished version on the album. True, Reilly's voice sounds pleasantly facetious singing the line "so stop dragging your feet behind" in "Dear Scene, I Wish I Was Deaf," but it seemed to work best and rather confrontational when it resonated with anger as it did on its original form. There was a seemingly perfect sound quality to the 5 original demos put up in January 2004 on the band's website, and it's tracks like the unfortunately titled "I Want To Be Buried In Your Backyard" (formerly known as "Yuengling," and likely changed due to copyrights on the popular beverage) that just seemed more personal and as a result more effective in its earlier, more stripped down setting. However, I'm harping on an opinion that's virtually a non-issue for new listeners, and that's likely to be the majority of NOY's fanbase come several months, especially since producer Brian McTernan's done a fine job when judging the record on its own merits.

The five original demos posted by Nightmare Of You were amazing songs, and that's a word I use scarcely. It's hard to bring that same abundant consistency to a full, proper record, but with Nightmare Of You's self-titled debut, they've nearly succeeded. It's an exceptional album and a bit hard to believe its status as a first official LP, but regardless a piece of great, poetic songwriting and an original approach to a sound revolutionized by a stable of artists now a cult phenomneon. If the current era's considered the newest wave of said style, consider Nightmare Of You at the forefront of it.

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Posted by HeresLookinAtYou on 2006-07-15 19:03:28

this is actaully really good

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 at 9:51 PM (EDT)
My Score:

i love this band

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 17, 2006 at 6:24 PM (EDT)
My Score:

I think this is one of the best albums i've bought in recent years, but i agree that their ep songs were better than a few of the songs on the album but all in all i love this band and think they actually have quite a refreshing sound from most of the other crap which is being released at the moment.

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 17, 2006 at 5:30 PM (EDT)

Hey everyone!!! The Days Go By Oh So Slow is Nightmare of You newest video and is on mtvU!!

Check it out…
http://www.mtvu.com/music/video_premiere/nightmare_of_you/

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, November 14, 2005 at 9:24 PM (EST)
My Score:

I don't get why everyone basically hates this band. Sure, they might be influenced by Morrissey/Smith/tons of other 80's pop rock bands but who the hell cares? It sounds good and thats all that matters. The fact is, they arent trying to be the next amazingly different band with an incredible new sound. The did over produce the record but not to the point where it destroys the sound and flow to the album. The lyrics themselves are great because Brandon is just saying what he's thinking and being honest...what more could you ask? Musically, they wrote very listenable poppy rock music but it still has a unique sound to it. All in all this is one of the freshest sounding albums lyrically and musically all year. All of you nay-sayers should loosen up a bit and stop freaking out every time someone has an influence thats overly noticeable.

Posted by stricken on 2005-09-28 00:37:33
My Score:

love this cd... gives me a "brit-rock" kinda feel.

some of the lyrics are retarded, though still well written.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, September 14, 2005 at 7:40 PM (EDT)

Does anyone know where I can hear the demos? I love the album but don't know where to find the demos.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, September 14, 2005 at 5:05 PM (EDT)

This shit is hilarious. If you're older than 14 and listen to this, you're a fucking idiot.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, September 14, 2005 at 3:32 PM (EDT)

this is some might queer shit going on with this band

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, September 14, 2005 at 2:51 PM (EDT)

"This band sucks my ass with soy sauce"

You put soy sauce in your ass for musicians to suck out & you praise wrestling in the same post?

You don't just come out of the closet, you kick the fucking door down.

Posted by vampa on 2005-09-14 09:46:47
My Score:

maybe anchors is thinking of the bassist from scraps and heart attacks who now plays in i am the avalanche.

score is for the fact that i'm late for work and posting on this site.

Posted by poopypants on 2005-09-14 09:22:03

"
Speaking of cred police, TTNY (which I prefer immensely, while we're on the topic) came out on Revelation, and was their only release for them"

ah dammit whatever, stupid labels

paul

Posted by soulbleed on 2005-09-13 23:54:16

i had no idea sammy was in this band. i think i'll buy this now. the first couple tracks are good.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 11:51 PM (EDT)

the first five tracks on this album rip. the rest suck.

Posted by inagreendase on 2005-09-13 23:11:50

Anchors, I'm not sure if anyone here played in Scraps. Both vocalists are brothers (SAHA/TIH / NOY) and the bands are from LI, but that's about as far as a connection that can be made, I believe.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 6:05 PM (EDT)

the movie life sucked after alex left

Posted by Icapped2pac on 2005-09-13 17:59:34
My Score:

This band sucks my ass with soy sauce.

To all the people discussing Balls Mahoney and ECW on the "Gods" review (or any other "fake" wrestling fans), if you guys haven't heard of Ring of Honor wrestling (www.rohwrestling.com), do yourselves a favor and check them out. They are the closest thing I've found to ECW and they have a bunch of awesome wrestlers who do all kinds of innovative moves which result in sickening bumps. And really, what more can you ask for? (other than some bald drunk fuck driving a different overly large vehicle into the arena every week while drinking beer, of course)

Posted by Anchors on 2005-09-13 17:36:30

This isn't bad, but This Is Hell got the better half of the Scraps And Heart Attacks breakup.

Posted by inagreendase on 2005-09-13 17:31:54

ok good...i thought w/ the cred police and all its only cool to like movielife's equalvision stuff and not the drive thru album

Speaking of cred police, TTNY (which I prefer immensely, while we're on the topic) came out on Revelation, and was their only release for them.

Posted by poopypants on 2005-09-13 17:30:13

ok good...i thought w/ the cred police and all its only cool to like movielife's equalvision stuff and not the drive thru album

i thought 'this time next year' had like a few reallly standout tracks but most of it just blurred together and was filler early nfg meets early saves the day (music) w/ a little hardcore thrown in. no variety at all

40 hour train was much more accomplished and varied. i saw them at one of their last shows i think in may 2003 right before they broke up. they were great live, i was lucky enough to see them...damn..at least 3 times, maybe more

paul

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 4:43 PM (EDT)

I definitely liked forty hour train back to penn more than this time next year. however nightmare of you is awful. i am the avalanche is really good though, they sound almost identical to the movielife. mainly cause vinnie is the singer.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 3:21 PM (EDT)

Atmosphere = super lame music for embryos

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 3:15 PM (EDT)
My Score:

"This Time Last Year" ov da rictah scale yo! Fuck this band. Fuck Atmosphere and The New Lows. Both their new albums leaked. They both suck ass.

Posted by Allular on 2005-09-13 15:00:32

Listened to some of songs.. seems pretty boring.

Posted by tylerdurden8136 on 2005-09-13 14:24:24
My Score:

am i the only one who thought '40 hr. train back to penn' was waaaay better than 'this time next year'?

paul

no, you're not.

Posted by tylerdurden8136 on 2005-09-13 14:23:28
My Score:

four stars? really? i only listened to this once, and was kinda bored. maybe i'll give it a second chance.

Posted by inagreendase on 2005-09-13 13:17:14

Why has no one mentioned Sammy Siegler? He has a much more important and influencial past then the guitar player from the Movielife.

I was thinking about mentioning his presence but realized it was sort of futile as he's done records for EVERYONE, and his past bands don't really have any sort of influence on this record, while Reilly is the chief songwriter.

Posted by stevejonestherealbones on 2005-09-13 13:08:03

i dont know brian, i only read the opening paragraph, and then read the action action comments and i found the fellow you are talking about.

well, that guy wrote

"And the Killers are a cynical parody of bands that have already ripped off bands who were rip offs of semi-original groups."

anyone that writes like this and especially believes this doesnt deserve an explanation from you. that guy might as well be writing for rolling stone.

- jones the bones

- stevejones8770@yahoo.com

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 12:54 PM (EDT)

Why has no one mentioned Sammy Siegler? He has a much more important and influencial past then the guitar player from the Movielife.

I think it is interesting that he is in a band like this. Nothing wrong with it, just a different path.

Posted by Imposs1ble on 2005-09-13 12:51:50

This is my guilty pleasure of 2005, and for the most part I have very few complaints about this album. Yet I still have to ask what they were thinking when they changed the opening verse to "I Want to be Buried..."

Posted by poopypants on 2005-09-13 12:08:56

am i the only one who thought '40 hr. train back to penn' was waaaay better than 'this time next year'?

paul

Posted by poopypants on 2005-09-13 12:02:50

I don't know why their was so much hype about this, I really have no desire to learn more about a band that features a frontman who used to play guitar in a 4 chord pop punk band who apparantly now immates morrisey, has a faux british accent and jumped on the franz/killers/hothotheat nuwavebritdisco or whatever.

paul

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 11:35 AM (EDT)

I'm disappointed. The demos were exponentially better. They overproduced the hell out of the songs and for whatever reason they switched keys on some of the songs and it sounds like shit.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 11:11 AM (EDT)
My Score:

Score for the movielife's this time next year.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 11:10 AM (EDT)

This is damn good, but man, he really needs to stop ripping off Morrissey.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 10:53 AM (EDT)

seriously, fuck this band. "we're just sexually frustrAAAted." bullshit british accent my ass. FUCK YOU BRANDON.

Posted by pastepunk on 2005-09-13 10:19:05

(formerly known as "Yuengling," and likely changed due to copyrights on the popular beverage

-- It's a trademark issue... nothing to do with copyrights!

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 10:11 AM (EDT)

This comes with a sticker on it that says,"Brilliant. It's My Chemical Romance meets The Killers". No joke. Though, it is rather small, it doesn't cover all the artwork like the Victory ones do.

Posted by sickboi on 2005-09-13 10:05:06

Wow Scott, I figured you'd eat this crap up.

Posted by maverick on 2005-09-13 09:48:10
My Score:

Boooooooooooring.

-Scott

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 at 4:29 AM (EDT)

pretty average disc ... pretty bad disc if it wasnt for the ex members of famous bands.

i liked this time next year better.

Posted by LevitateMe on 2005-09-13 02:47:23
My Score:

This isn't bad, but it's not great either.

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