Night Sweats
Red EP
Self-Released
Street: 01.25
Night Sweats = Bauhaus x Joy Division + Iggy Pop
Usually, an EP will comprise a few songs representing a short body of work by a band. In the case of Night Sweats’ Red EP, four songs make up over 30 minutes of dark yet poppy electronic indie music. These underground darlings were featured in SLUG’s Localized back in December 2010, and have graced the stage for a decade as members of several other, popular local bands, such as The Red Bennies. I keep seeing references to them on my Facebook feed. Red makes it quickly obvious why they’re on every tongue and fingertip. Scott Selfridge’s vocals channel Ian Curtis––every indie rocker’s favorite proto-goth suicide––like a motherfucker. Liberal doses of Bauhaus-ian droning bass on “Keys to the Fortress” and “Body Talk” meet frenetic drums reminiscent of The Chameleons UK and even more frenetic strains of electro-gum-pop-meets-Iggy-Pop on “Car Car Commercial” for a combination that probably shouldn’t work, but really does. Complex, dark and layered doesn’t always mean brooding!