Customer Reviews

Now It's Overhead

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

[...] here it is:

1. Blackout Curtain
2. Who's Jon
3. Hi
4. Hold Your Spin
5. 6th Grade Roller
6. Wonderful Scar
7. With A Subtle Look
8. Goodbye Highway
9. A Skeleton On Display

This is, without doubt, an amazing first release. I have yet to find another band that sounds the same as NIO. Stand out tracks are "Who's Jon", "Hi" and "With a Subtle Look", but there are no bad tracks on this album. I don't know how to describe how beautiful this CD is. Download some of the free songs at nowitsoverhead.com or saddle-creek.com and decide for yourself.

I saw them at a concert last year promoting Wait In Line; they are just as amazing live and stole the show from the headlining band. If you get the chance to see them live, don't miss it!

Hopefully their recent tour with REM will awaken people to just how good this record really is. Georgeously moody songs that managed to mix tight production with plenty of room for air. Wonderful Scar is perhaps their most consummate pop song, and they can sure kick up a storm in a live setting.

Where is everybody? I would've thought anyone who heard that these guys have a connection to Bright Eyes would've flocked to this album. Well, anyway...
First, know that I am not much of a Bright Eyes fan. I think they're vastly overrated. They're fine, but Conor Oberst is not a genius, even if he is very good for his age (I think it's important for you to know where I'm coming from here). Having said that, I like Now It's Overhead quite a bit. This is no genius album, either, but NIO doesn't try as hard as Bright Eyes to display their sincerity. This music is assured and often beautiful, despite the lead singer's less than beautiful voice (think a more reigned-in version of Jeff Mangum from Neutral Milk Hotel). Simple (if off-kilter) alt/folk/pop arrangements are dressed up with epic-sounding drums and white noise that don't necessarily add a whole lot but which don't detract from the tunes either.
This album is extremely listenable, even if it's not mind-blowing. You won't be changed by it, but you'll appreciate the talent that went into it, and you'll play it again and again. For that alone, it's worth the purchase.