I’m Bad Now

It’s winter, motivation is low. Time for something familiar, with a melancholy edge: the new album from Nap Eyes. For I’m Bad Now, the Nova Scotia crew’s third album, Nap Eyes delves into classic 1960s psychedelic pop that rides a surface groove without diving too deep into hazy interludes, specifically on “Follow Me Down,” with its lean, folky body. Singer/guitarist (and songwriter) Nigel Chapman’s velvety voice sits up front in the mix, with a sort of Lou Reed slouch in the way he meanders nonchalantly through his melodies. The peppiest tune is the opener, lead single “Every Time the Feeling,” with its fat trebly guitar and mid-tempo tunefulness. Lyrically, the song closes on the sort of level-headed optimism that’s hard not to get behind, with the lines, “Oh I can’t tell what’s worse/The meaninglessness or the negative meaning/But I figured out a way/To get on with my life and to keep on dreaming.” Winter’s not so bad with Nap Eyes playing.