Band to Watch: Nerves Junior - As Bright As Your Night Light

Would Mel Brooks call this a "Mabbit?" Half man, half rabbit?

And let's shift gears a bit, shall we! Another late addition to my top 50 albums of 2011 was As Bright As Your Brightest Night Light by Nerves Junior. I first heard the title track over the holidays as I was driving home...thank you Sirius XMU! The funky opening beat caught my attention and then the singing kicked in. Initial impression was some conglomeration of The Black Angels and Gardens & Villa. Intrigued.

Not gonna lie, shortly after arriving at my destination I jumped on their bandcamp site and scooped up the mp3 of the album so I could listen judge its list-worthiness.

'Night Light made an overall solid impression the first time through. Momentum established. Granted, I was only able to listen a handful of times before it was list-decision time but I felt it was a good sign that each time I listened it crept a little further up the rankings. The freshness of it likely played a role but I think it had more to do with the funk-groovetastic-yet sometimes mellow-rock (kinda want to combine that into a one word adjective) vibe I got from the whole thing.

This 4-piece rock outfit comes from the land of Lousiville, KY. Considering My Morning Jacket also came from there they instantly got additional credibility. **I am aware there are many other great musical acts as well as others from there that are terrible. Just roll with it** Nerves formed all the way back in 2009 and 'Night Lights is their debut release, which makes it even more impressive. They consistently delve into a world of experimental psych-garage rock throughout the album. I understand where the mild comparisons with Radiohead come from with their layers of excitable beats and effectsed-out guitar.

My guess is they'll continue to garner up some buzz with the title track that's getting some airplay now but "Kale" will be the one to get them a little closer to being on that proverbial map. This is another one of my "band to watch" favorites of the moment and should most definitely be on your radar!

You can check the audio to "As Bright as Your Night Light" and the video for "Kale" below.

As Bright As Your Night Light:

Kale: