With their third record, I'm Bad Now, Canadian indie quartet Nap Eyes complete what they refer to as an informal trilogy of releases that began with 2014's Whine of the Mystic. That curious debut introduced the vision of frontman and chief songwriter Nigel Chapman, whose cerebral introspections were woven into a lazy lattice of sparsely arranged, low-key rock that drew inevitable Velvet Underground comparisons. The philosophical songcraft and the members' musical chemistry deepened with 2016's finely honed sequel, Thought Rock Fish Scale, further establishing their singularity. Three albums in, it seems no longer fair to compare Chapman's laconically sung, bookish verses to the streetwise urban poetry of Lou Reed. With this excellent third LP, Nap Eyes' identity as guitar-slinging bard-scholars of Eastern Canada is sealed. Originally based in Halifax, Chapman is now the band's sole Maritime resident, with lead guitarist Brad Loughead, bassist Josh Salter, and drummer Seamus Dalton having migrated westward to Montreal, where this set was recorded. Like their other releases, I'm Bad Now is very much a live record full of human interactions and spontaneous musical conversations, shambling at times, then coalescing into sections of streamlined glory. Out of the gate, Nap Eyes offer one of the album's gems in the easy-grooving "Every Time the Feeling," with its refrain of "I can't tell what's worse: the meaningless or the negative meaning/But I figured out a way to get on with my life and to keep on dreaming." It's a keen setup to Chapman's worldview and Nap Eyes' tone in general as they pose questions, offer answers, and examine abstract behaviors. Chapman frequently addresses himself in the second person, directly confronting his attitudes on subjects both expansive and minute. When he receives a bouquet of roses on "Roses," he asks "You can't very well send them back the other way/You're always trying to be nice, but is it really the right way?" The sweetly pastoral "Follow Me Down" offers a meditation on walking, while the acoustic "Boats Appear" romanticizes his coastal Atlantic hometown. I'm Bad Now may be billed as a closing chapter in their first act, but Nap Eyes give the feeling that their narrative will continue on indefinitely.
© Timothy Monger /TiVo