Minneapolis based indie rock/ freak folk/ psych/ everything in-between band Night Moves have just recently released their new album, Pennied Days, out now via Domino.
Forming in 2009 in the Twin Cities, Night Moves is composed at its core of trio John Pelant and Micky Alfano. Friends since high school, the story goes that their bond was solidified when Alfano lent Pelant his copy of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, a luminous classic of turn-the-page melancholy that echoes through Pennied Days.
The recording sessions for this sophomore album stretched far longer than anticipated, with the music veering from Flaming Lips-influenced doomsday dirges to the folky, laidback material the band were known for, and so eventually producer John Agnello was introduced to help steer things back on course, resulting in a 9 song collection of future folk-rock, paisley-tinged guitar licks, and even a piano jam or two. It’s a stunning effort and an impressive introduction to the ever evolving collective.
To celebrate the release of the record, the duo’s John Pelant has penned for us a track by track run down of the record which you can check out below along with the LP stream. Give it a spin and if you like what you’re hearing be sure to pop by www.nightmovesmpls.com for more info.
Carl Sagan
This track was originally conceived back in 2010 on a farfisa organ. I was going through a big Cosmos phase and I had this song with no title so I just called it Carl Sagan, it was only supposed to be a place hold title to distinguish the track from the others in my files.
I shelved it for some reason. I think that maybe I thought it could be better or something, was never quite satisfied, although I always liked it. The tune started out very dance-y/space disco-y/bombastic drum machine, and then ended up in my mind becoming like a surf-space rock thing, more laid back.
I re-worked the drums and the instrumental arrangement and sent it to John Agnello, he really took to it. It was a very last minute thing, ya know like “hey maybe I could see what they think of this old tune,” but ended up becoming a single for the record.
Denise, Don’t Wanna See You Cry
This song was a big one for me. I worked on it for about a month and a half straight trying to get the exact right arrangement. I probably did the song 50 different ways if I were to go back and look at the recording files. I had all these different parts and they all fit together so well over the drum beat(cuz it basically doesn’t change), but the order of them was very important to me, and I wasn’t happy with just any old arrangement.
I can’t remember when I said this is the way it’s gotta be, but it clicked one day in late March 2014. I remember coming outta the dark basement during the demoing process to all the snow melting and the sun shining and singing to myself the “Oh Denise, I wanna play into you hand tonight” hook and trying to figure out the harmony stack as I walked to the corner store.
The harmonies are very key and put me on this whole vocal harmony stack thing that is present throughout Pennied Days. I like this track because it was so different from anything else I had done, but it felt very much like the next step to the second record and not in an alienating way- very complimentary for me…
Leave Your Light On
This is a song we had for a very long time. It had been in the works since 2009, but it never really went anywhere. It was always a little lose in terms of the arrangement. I always loved the country vibe, as well as the lyrics, but it wasn’t until late November 2014 that I honed in on the rhythm, melody, and arrangement for the tune in order to bring it into something that could be performed live again and again as well as listened to as a recording.
I am really pleased with this one. It kinda has this Jackson Browne space rock thing that I really like. Funny thing is, I hated the studio version until the very final mixing session. It all came together in the end and wound up sounding more like I originally intended in my demo.
Border On Border
The hook for this song was conceived by myself and Mark Ritsema in our old house, the Kubla Khan, in a concrete basement where the main sewer drain would often back up into the practice space.
Needless to say the shit laden room bore a lot of tunes including the border on border hook. We were jamming on the hook for an hour or so stoned- just vamping on that walk down chord progression and guitar lick. I remember blowin my own mind with the riff and worrying at the same time that it had already been written by another band, cuz I thought it was too good to be my own. As time went on and a lot of revision happened the song took shape and most definitely came to be OUR song.
A lot of people would always leave comments like “when is Border On Border going to be released?!?” or “I love this song, but I can’t find it anywhere?!?” We had been only performing it live for sometime and it seemed to go over quite well. We could have put it out alongside the Colored Emotions LP, but there was really no more room on the album- it would have totally fucked up the flow of that record. So we waited on it and kept it for the second record because we knew it would bump. This is another one where I fucked with the arrangement and key A LOT.
It took a lot of different forms, but that walk down chord progression with the guitar lick is the major hook of the song for me… as long as you got that you have a good tune.
Kind Luck
I am realizing a lot of these tracks go way back, go figure huh? I remember having this song in the bag years back but thinking that it couldn’t go on a Night Moves record cuz it didn’t sound like what I imagined a “night moves song” to sound like— too folky. Luckily, over time I figured it out and said fuck it.
I dig this one cuz it has that slightly behind the beat Keith guitar thing going on and a Buckingham/Nicks vocal. If you listen closely there is a very reverb-ed out Rhythm Ace drum machine in the background that I am rather fond of- nice kick pattern. The chords are very familiar to guitar folk, but that second verse brings in that minor sweetness- once I discovered that piece of the song I realized it could be something of interest to listen to, felt more robust and song-y.
Hiding In The Melody
This song exhibits a style of my writing that shows how my songs usually start out. This one is pretty long, has a lot of parts, and is all over the place, however when edited can make sense. Hiding In The Melody is a slow burner and is all about the build and the trip it takes you on.
All the parts seemed to have their own tempo, all very similar, but each a slightly different BPM. I had to nail the vibe and the ebb and flow of the song when recording the demo, so I made a click track that changed tempos for every part, which was pretty crazy to do, but made sense to me in my head if I wanted to replicate the track’s groove down the line in the studio. Most of the songs don’t contain long jam outros, but this one is a nice detour from our normal song structure.
Staurolite Stroll
This is a very wistful track. A lot of sadness to it… Like a lot songs, this one was finished 6 or 7 different ways during the demoing process. Each version totally distinct. Sometimes the BPM changed, sometimes the drum changed, sometimes the instrumentation changed, sometimes whole parts were added or omitted.
I always stayed in the key of E though. The version that made the record was a healthy medium between all versions that I settled on. If you listen to the outro of the song you will hear the impetus for the song. It was basically created out of that space-y keyboard movement and sculpted into a structured pop song involving guitar, bass, drums, and vocals.
Alabama
At this stage of the writing process I was getting pretty disillusioned with the whole thing and wondering if it was even worth it and how I was going to finish the record. There were some many different vibes going on and it was hard to see a cohesive record being realized.
I was trying to get away from stuff I normally did— I think that probably comes through in the vocal. Alabama is a very vocal song. There are a lot of vocal ranges going on in the song, as well as a lot of background vocals coming through. This songs arrangement came together very easily, despite my internal conflicts.
I wrote the song on piano and then transferred it to a flute keyboard setting along with a kind of T. Rex drum machine groove. It ended up turning into this whole different beautiful soundscape with plenty of layers in the studio with John Agnello.
Only To Live In Your Memories
This song was originally called ‘Bedroom’, and we sometimes still refer to it by that title.
I love this one for its varied instrumentation. It’s synth-y while at the same time being woody and warm. This one ended up being another hybrid arrangement that we pieced together after enjoying two various versions of the song that I had demoed out. You might notice the first half’s drums sound slightly different than the second half- it’s because the are two different drum machines.
I think John Agnello did a good job of representing all the layers of instruments in the mix— tip that hat to ya, John. If you listen closely there is a lot going on between the drum machine, guitar licks, and synths. Every instrument is kinda peppered throughout the composition- Are you satisfieddddd?
