A decade after their glorious debut LP Reclining Nude, Amsterdam’s jangle pop alpha geeks Naive Set return with a double A-side “No Relation / Moving Target”. Some things have since changed (the band, during their previous self-titled long player, was briefly bolstered by Lewsberg-headman Arie van Vliet). But luckily, the group’s knack for quippy, loosely played songs – in the vein of Modern Lovers and The Feelies – has remained perfectly intact.
Though Naive Set’s American-born singer/guitarist Mikey Casalaina has an uncanny gift for twisting life’s ficklest oxymorons into amusing zingers, it appears the aforementioned Lewsberg’s stoic fatalism has rubbed off a bit on his own penmanship. “No Relation” borrows some of second LP Dragon‘s sun-kissed textures, but the lyrics paint a picture of caustic sorrow. ‘Given peace a chance / Didn’t seem to last,’ Casalaina opens, paraphrasing one of his heroes, John Lennon, only to later contemplate ‘preaching to the choir’ versus ‘conversing with the chorus’, at odds of where he fits into a world where the veil is lifted further and further from its incumbent evils.
“Moving Target” – inspired by Dylan’s Nashville Skyline-era, according to the press release – sounds like a languid, easy going dive bar strummer. That being said, Casalaina feels the walls closing in on him, with “too many greedy demons feeding at my breast”. Both songs hint at a new approach for Naive Set; their music still oozes that summery yearning, nevertheless with a darker lyrical shade hovering from above. Both songs show an enticing preview for a new recording project, which is set for release on AT EASE.
For now listen to “No Relation” and “Moving Target” below, and find both songs on streaming outlets.
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