the SLOW NIGHT - Flicker and Go

The Slow Night

Flicker and Go
self-released; 2014

3.4 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Hailing from Toronto, The Slow Night is a three-piece band made up of vocalist/guitarist Daniel Janvier, vocalist/guitarist Elias Campbell and drummer Sean Sutherland. They have been together since 2012 and make their own brand of melancholy art rock that fans of bands like The National and Local Natives will embrace.

They recently released a five-song EP entitled Flicker and Go, which contains reverb laced guitars and a bunch of melancholy with not much solace to be found. The album cover is quite indicative of the general theme of the album. I like gloom rock as much as the next guy. I can get down with Portishead and Joy Division and The Slow Night get some things right but still have room to refine their sounds.

From a production standpoint one of the first things I noticed was how buried the drums were in the mix on occasion. I have to say that the drums shouldn’t be this buried when they are really one of the only forms of upbeat energy. Besides that there were only minor issues regarding the aesthetic qualities. 

The band starts off with “When the Rain Calls Out,” which is bound to draw some comparisons to The National. It’s a decent song but not the strongest amongst the batch. “Over A City” is pretty much all doom and gloom except for the hooray at the end. Again a decent song and showing potential.

The band hits it on the head with “Leave It Alone.” This song is sung by Elias Campbell who has an exceptional voice. He can sing a great falsetto and he also finds his range. Not only are his vocals stellar but everything else is as well. The drums sound better and the guitar parts are more inventive. I’m not sure what inspired this song but whatever it was - keep it up.

The last two songs “Slip Away” and “Harbour” are a fair showing from the band. “Harbour” was effective at building intensity. Flicker and Go isn’t necessarily something I would recommend waking up to in the morning but it is best used sparingly. The band has some kinks in their armor but with some tweaking could be a formidable threat.

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