Nightlands

Nightlands – the project of The War On Drugs’ Dave Hartley – shares “Stare Into The Sun,” the final single from his new album, Moonshine, out July 15th on Western Vinyl. Following “No Kiss For The Lonely” and the “ethereal and surprisingly playful” (Uproxx) “Moonshine,” “Stare Into The Sun” is deeply transportive, leading to deeper places in Hartley’s vocal-centered labyrinth. With reverb drenched layered vocals, “Stare Into The Sun” is one of Moonshine’s standout tracks.

“The spark for this song started when I heard Human Nature (from Thriller) at a gas station,” explains Hartley. “The chords in the intro of that tune activated something in my heart and I wanted to write something with similar modulating chords. There’s some surrealism happening here. Hundreds of vocals overdubbed creating an uncanny, fractured gospel vibe. The lyrics stand in contrast to the overall vibe, though: it’s a lush, melancholy song about pure anger. I love the arpeggiating synth solo in the break and I’m proud of the way the lyrics poured out. It didn’t feel like composition, it felt like therapy.”

Amid massive global paradigm shifts Hartley became a father twice over and left his native Philadelphia for Asheville. From the newfound refuge of a studio he built using the bones of a barn attached to his hundred-something-year-old house in the mountains, Hartley has tailored a collection of well-crafted dream pop. Guided by some of the harmonic sensibilities that have helped make The War On Drugs a force in modern music, Moonshine reveals previously unseen acreage in the unfurling dreamscape that is Nightlands. Moonshine is the clearest image yet of Dave Hartley as a person and creator.