Goodnight Nurse - Keep me On Your Side
Following on from their 2006 debut album Always and Never Auckland's Goodnight Nurse (Joel Little - vocals/guitar, Jaden Parkes – drums, plus two new additions to the band Sam McCarthy - guitar/vocals and Rowan Crowe – bass) present a solid pop punk effort in their sophomore album Keep Me On Your Side.
Recorded at Birdland Studios in Melbourne with producer Lindsay Gravina, the album features a slew of made-for-radio tracks covering the menagerie of experiences the youth of New Zealand strive to overcome on a daily basis.
Debuting at #5 on the NZ charts Keep Me On Your Side's themes of wild nights out and lost love combined with refined musicianship reflects the band's growth as individuals and manifests itself as a subtle maturity interwoven into each of the songs.
First single off the album The Night is an infectious hook laden tune that is also my personal favourite. With an easy to sing along to chorus and a key focus on the all too familiar experiences of a night out this is a fast and fun pop tune.
Second single 'I Need You' is another upbeat party anthem that does well to support the band's comparisons to American punk band Green Day.
Without delving completely off course with swooning ballads the lads tackle the more serious stuff in tracks 'Hard To Watch You Go' and 'Jesse' while 'Drift Away' has a heavier, angst focus.
Not so great is the album opener 'Serpent Queen Pt 2' which fails to ignite the sense of life and energy shouted loud in clear in tracks further down the list, and while 'Lay With Me' is a fun track it just doesn't have that special something.
Sonia Robinson
