By Brandon Henry
Every once in a while an album comes along that bears repeating. On the first listen you know you weren’t able to absorb what you just heard, but you know you experienced something great. Like watching a Wes Anderson film, it may not make sense the first time around, but the more you dig into it, the beauty of the different layers are revealed.
This is what happened when I started listening to Nightmare in a Day from Camp Dark. I found myself hitting repeat on these 13 songs as I was drawn further into their dark, hypnotic grooves.
Camp Dark is the collective moniker of songwriter Adam Svec and producer Graham O’Brien who deliver an intriguing, synth-soaked collection of songs. Born out of Svec’s year spent in South Carolina, these songs are an outsider’s view of the racism, sexism, and homophobia that are still apparent. It’s a dark journey through the underbelly of a region whose shadows of its past still loom large as Nightmare in a Day masterfully captures this between its intricate layers of sound.
From the heavy lead off track “Dixieland” to the breathtaking closer “Words That Don’t Exist,” Nightmare in a Day is pleasantly dark, mysterious, and profound. The layered harmonies tightly twist around each other as orchestral synths, intricate programming and thunderous drums drive them. At times the cavernous sounds reverberate like a choir in a cathedral in songs like “Arm Are You OK” and “Norse.”
Tracks like “Are You Hiding,” “Charlie,” and “Shoulda” are haunting, but beautifully arranged with Adam’s serine vocals going from intimate delivery to soaring falsettos all the while backed by drums and synths that magnify the intensity of the moment. It’s this dichotomy between dark and light, high and low that makes this record so intriguing.
“Tell One” is a cool mod-loungy instrumental with a catchy, laid back vibe you’d expect to hear Q-Tip sample, while “Former Lovers” buries itself in your ears. Its hooky, mesmerizing, melodic mantra, has the song’s character lamenting lovers of the past and the empty feeling of guilt left behind.
The final track “Words That Don’t Exist” is a sonic manifestation of the record’s theme with beautifully finger-picked acoustic guitar on a light refrain that sounds like what you’d hear when you wake up from a bad dream. But as the chorus comes in, Camp Dark pulls the listener back into the shadows of the nightmare they’re trying to escape.
Most people don’t enjoy nightmares, but awaken with a stronger sense of perspective. Camp Dark’s Nightmare in Day is one nightmare you’ll want to experience.
Celebrate the release of Nightmare in a Day at Icehouse on Friday, May 15th.
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