Night Court

Reviews

The Dumpies / Night Court The Shit Split Part Duh split EP

Bold move to name your record after such an iconic split as the original BLATZ/FILTH Shit Split. The DUMPIES clock five fleeting cuts of mostly melodic pop punk with nasally vocals. The least melodic track, “Hats,” is also the shortest (a whopping 25 seconds) and most memorable of the bunch. Exhibiting a competence that comes with experience, it’s clear that the DUMPIES know their way around their instruments, but this batch of songs seems a bit undercooked. It’s like they are hinting at something greater than what has been committed to tape, and ultimately flame out before leaving the launching pad. On the flipside of the platter, NIGHT COURT wades even further into the syrup of jangly pop punk. This is the type of cloying, cavity-inducing, artificially sweetened pop that makes me long for the whine of the dentist’s drill. At least their songs are quite brief, too. Needless to say, this falls far short of the record its title references.   

Night Court Humans! LP

Following Nervous Birds! One and Nervous Birds! Too, this is NIGHT COURT’s third full-length release, and first time on vinyl. They are a Vancouver, BC outfit doing some indie-flavored garage punk, with a digital undercurrent as if you’ve got the headphones plugged in halfway. I don’t necessarily mean this is in a bad way—the slightly distorted vocals and synth/guitar phaser play well off one another. A mix of the SHINS and the PIXIES, roughed up with a lo-fi production, might get you close to the NIGHT COURT sound, for whatever the comparison is worth. Only two tracks reach the two-minute mark, so this sixteen-song LP is over pretty fast. Fun, easy, summertime listening.  Should we be on the lookout for Humans! Too?

Night Court Nervous Birds! Too cassette

NIGHT COURT plays smart jangly, just weird enough lo-fi punk—which is still harmonic at heart—that draws both from late ’70s power pop and ’90s college radio. It’s the kind of release that would stand strong on the Recess Records or Dirtnap rosters. There’s a complex interplay between the reflective lyrics, fuzzed bass riffs, power guitar chords, and clangorous drums, that while being deftly executed, comes off like it was just an “aw shucks” accident. Extra bonus is that this is the second album in the band’s debut duology, and the first album is just as good.

Night Court Nervous Birds! One cassette

Thirteen-song, long-playing debut cassette release, which appears to be the first half of the bands “nervous birds duology,” so there is presumably a Nervous Birds! Two cassette coming at some point. Upbeat indie pop, not quite gritty enough to affix the often thrown-around “punk” attachment to their “pop” genre. People who dig the pop stylings of MARKED MEN or JAWBREAKER would likely find enjoyment in this Vancouver-based band.