Hailing from their hometown of Dundee, The NSA have prepared a new album for their listeners to enjoy. Titled, Feverland, the nine track compilation experiments with sounds and genres and treats the ears to a medley of musical wonders. The smooth vocals of Nick Shane are a staple in each song and draw you in to the talent on full display.
The first track, ‘Wild Side Zoo’, kicks the album off with a light tambourine sound intro that leads you into the acoustic sounding guitar that joins. Luring you into thinking that the song is going to be somewhat subdued, the one minute mark puts this theory to bed as it becomes more boisterous and in your face once more instruments accompany the composition. It gives it the upbeat, good vibes of the song, which sounds like something quite retro, quite 70’s or 80’s. The nostalgic twang of the guitars is akin to a track from The Who. The distinctive vocals sound somewhat distant and echoey, but this adds to the old school tone.
‘Long Brown Hair’ is an instant toe tapper. A feel good, lively and quite fast track. It’s catchy, particularly the jangly guitar opening and once again those distinctive vocals. This song also introduces us to the first example on the album of The NSA’s signature style of muting instruments for multiple seconds, before coming back full force. ‘Long Brown Hair’ uses this when the second verse cuts out the instrumentation, just for a moment, creating this sense of tension. This isn’t the only time you see this on Feverland, but every time it works well. Of course the stand out factor on this track is the intricate guitar solo, which highlights the instrumental talents we see across the whole album.
Song three, titular track, ‘Feverland’ introduces a more country edge. There is still a multitude of energy, which appears consistently throughout the album. The countdown into the song is a classic way to build up to the track itself, which is a slightly longer composition this time, one to really indulge in. There is a lot of emphasis on the drum three quarters of the way through, once more showing off how incredible the musicians really are.
‘The Girl With The Freaky Gun’ stood out just simply because of the odd title, but it also has a rockier sound with its grungy guitars that makes it a showstopper. The drums are once again really prominent, giving it that constant rock tone, and it all contrasts nicely with the slightly more softer spoken vocals.
The midway point sees the typical slight change of pace. ‘Be My Firefly’ slows things down a little and shows off a bit of harmonica playing, another distinctive feature that leans into the country-esque stylings of other songs. There’s something more heartfelt about this track, particularly the higher vocal range at the end that blends nicely with aforementioned harmonica.
Song six, ‘Who’d Be You’ feels very similar tonally, but its shortness means you don’t get to enjoy it for long enough. This is the case with track eight also, ‘The Guv’nor’ though this one is far more edgier than their other tracks and the guitars feel especially passionate. The vocals are punchy and each line feels emphasised in what is a short space of time.
‘Rising Sons’ is sandwiched between these two tracks, and it demonstrates another example of what is quite a distinctive guitar playing style. That twangy sound that makes it remain upbeat. There’s a beautiful sliding effect at the beginning that catches your attention and the muted section in this track really gives the instruments oomph when they return.
Finally, ‘Freak Of Nature’ leads Feverland out on a high. It sounds like Nick’s vocals have an effect over the top that muffles them to sound underwater or like he’s standing at the far end of a tunnel. It really helps bring the instruments to life though. Another rockier piece, ‘Freak Of Nature’ is the perfect way to end the album because it collectively uses the best parts of their sound to conclude everything in their own signature style.
FOLLOW THE NSA ON INSTAGRAM/ FACEBOOK / X
FIND MORE REVIEWS FROM RGM HERE