Album Review Featured

Album Review:: Saved | Now, Now

It’s been 6 long years since Now, Now released their emo indie album Threads, that gave us the contagious taste of aggressive strumming and vocals filled with ethereal emotional tension. With years to write and produce the follow up, there comes pressure to deliver the perfect album of originality, newness, and pleasing the masses. Though Now, Now already teased us a year in advance with “SGL” that left us anticipating more. The first single only showed a glimpse of Saved–some slow ease into the departure of the familiar gritty sounds of guitar and the first introductions of an indie pop beat.

It’s not an easy feat to switch music stylings, unless you’re Taylor Swift of course. Though Now, Now saw an opening with Saved. With the introduction of the new softer acoustic tones and upbeat synths, Saved is a more subdued emo that focuses more on moody upbeat melodies. It’s more trendy indie pop. Tracks like “MJ”, which pays tribute to the King of Pop, and “Yours” showcases this new direction with electric melodies at the forefront. Though, not songs you’d want to dance to if you listen closely, which creates a bit of confusion. Instead we enter a new realm of taking serious lyrics of love and creating a new feeling of melancholy around it.

However, the duo behind Now, Now have not completely ditched their emo roots that brought their claim to fame. Dalager’s unique and lazy alto vocals float heavy melancholic lyrics about lovers through songs like “Can’t Help Myself” and “Window.” You’ll find yourself coming to terms with a road trip album with songs like “Drive,” which is a personal favorite of mine. Emotional tension delivers strong in the midst of synths, drum machines, and vocals as smoke in a smoke filled room. We see this in the title track, “Saved,” where as the tempo builds, so does the electric drum beats and echoed vocals. Meanwhile, “AZ” will entice older fans to revisit and unravel the layered vocals of Dalager’s the synth lead guitar solos.

Now, Now delivers a solid album that maybe older fans weren’t expecting, but it gives the band much needed space to shape their own style and fill an cross between of indie pop and emo music that doesn’t overlap often. I hope to take Saved on solo road trip into the horizon one of these days.

Release Date: May 5th, 2018
Rating: 3.5/5
Runtime: ~45 minutes

Track listing:
1. SGL
2. MJ
3. Can’t Help Myself
4. AZ
5. Window
6. Holy Water
7. Yours
8. Saved
9. Knowme
10. Drive
11. Set It Free
12. POWDER

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